Changes During Time
by Ruthless Roxy
Summary: COMPLETE: Inuyasha and Kagome end up getting into a big fight causing Kagome to go back to her time once again. Six months pass and a lot of changes can happen during such a long period of time. Wait! What does Sesshomaru have to do with this?
1. Six Months Past

**Please Read: **After I started this story, I've recieved quite a few reviews about Kagome's attitude and her looks with piercings, but please remember: she is going through a short phase which ends by Part VI. Another reason for this is also because I was a bit new at writing when I first started this story and it turned into so much more than I thought it would, so please bare with me. Kagome soon turns back into the girl we all know and love! Thank you!

**Author's Note: **Okay. I know this isn't the original layout of Part I – Part VII, but it's all good because I've decided to make a change. It's been about six months since I've worked on this story. Which is quite ironic if you think about it. Lol. You'll understand once you read the chapter.

But anyways, I realized a lot of mistakes while I was reading my previous chapters to pick back up on my story. And although I'm not going to change these chapters, I am going to fix corrections. Yes, the tiny voice in my head is screaming at me for making them in the first place, but things happen. All is good. So enjoy yourself if you haven't started reading the chapter yet.

**Remember:** Anything in **_bold and italisized are flash backs _**while anything in _just italisized are thoughts or dreams_.

**Disclaimer: **I, Ruth Ellen Cottrill, otherwise known as HazardousChik69 or AnimePunk13, do not own the kick ass anime show that is known as Inuyasha. But what you don't need to know is how I secretly wish I did and worship the owner. Anyways… Lol.

**- - - - - - - - - - - -**

**Changes During Time**  
**Six Months Past**

Six months have passed as Inuyasha, once again, stared down the empty well that connected his and Kagome's worlds together. His golden amber eyes were blank with no emotion, but yet he was torn apart deep inside. It had been six months since he last saw Kagome. He couldn't believe how he acted on that day. Why did he have to be such an asshole? If only he could go back and take back what he had said.

**_One cold October night Inuyasha was standing by the well, waiting for Kagome, like he normally does. She was four days late and he was becoming quite annoyed with her until he saw her trying to pull herself up and out of the well. Shaking his head and tossing everything aside, he leaned over to help pull her and all of her heavy belongings up._**

**_"Where in the hell have you been!" were the first words out of his mouth._**

**_No what happened, hi, or even a hello, just where have you been. She couldn't believe him. He was becoming so self-centered lately and she was beginning to grow tired of it. So in response she yelled back, "My mom was sick so I decided to stay home and take care of Grandpa and Souta while she got better!"_**

**_Inuyasha's patients were beginning to lessen as she screamed back. His blood boiled before he responded. "Then why didn't you come back and tell us?"_**

**_She silently clenched her fists and said in the sweetest voice, "Inu Yasha?"_**

**_With an awkward stare back he tilted he head and replied, "Yes?"_**

**_"Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit!"_**

**_She continued with her devilish command each and every time he tried to get up. "Well why didn't you come and check on me?"_**

**_Sango and Miroku watched from a distance. Indeed, they knew she had a good point, but there was no need for her continuous use of her oh so deadly sit command on Inuyasha. Finally hearing enough of this, Sango emerged from the bushes that she was well hidden in with Miroku._**

**_"Kagome," Sango spoke with her sweetest voice. "Kagome, don't you think you should give Inuyasha a break. We were all quite worried about you."_**

**_Kagome quickly turned her evil glare towards Sango. "How dare you? I have been so stressed out lately between things going on over here and then with my mother sick in modern times! You actually have the guts to tell me to take it easy on him? If he were so worried about me he would have jumped into the well and made his way towards the house. I don't care if likes the modern times or not! That's it! I'm sick of this. I'm going home for a break. I will be back when I feel like it!"_**

**_Kirara and Shippou arrived on the scene just in time to see Kagome plummet down the well. Tears began to stream down Shippou's face as he gave Inuyasha a nasty look. Yes, the young demon had heard it all and seen the large Inuyasha print in the ground as well. The feelings Inuyasha felt inside were over whelming and so new to him. What would he do now?_**

Yes, it was those very same feelings he felt then that he was feeling now. Miroku, Sango, and Shippou stood clear of him. Even Kirara was ignoring him completely because of what he had caused Kagome to do. But what he didn't understand is how she was acting. She had never blown up on him like that. Was there something else going on in her time that he didn't know about? He was pretty sure of it and whatever it was it was changing her completely. He began to debate with himself, wheather he should go back and get her or not.

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**Author's Note: **Hope you enjoyed it! Not much change really. Just a few spelling corrections in names and a couple of grammar errors now back to new. n.n Enjoy!


	2. A Changed Kagome

**Author's Note: **Okay. I know this isn't the original layout of Part I – Part VII, but it's all-good because I've decided to make a change. It's been about six months since I've worked on this story. Which is quite ironic if you think about it. Lol. You'll understand once you read the chapter.

But anyways, I realized a lot of mistakes while I was reading my previous chapters to pick back up on my story. And although I'm not going to change these chapters, I am going to fix corrections. Yes, the tiny voice in my head is screaming at me for making them in the first place, but things happen. All is good. So enjoy yourself if you haven't started reading the chapter yet.

**- - - - - - - - - - - -**

**Disclaimer: **I, Ruth Ellen Cottrill, otherwise known as HazardousChik69 or AnimePunk13, do not own the kick ass anime show that is known as Inuyasha. But what you don't need to know is how I secretly wish I did and worship the owner. Anyways… Lol.

**- - - - - - - - - - - -**

**Changes During Time**  
**A Changed Kagome**

"Maybe there is something going on that I don't know about." With those as his last words, Inu Yasha leapt over the side of the Bone Eater's Well. The oh so familiar blue mist surrounded his body and, as usual, he allowed it to over come him, eventually bringing him to a rock hard ground. In a single bound, he was over the wall of the well, but this time in Kagome's era, just as he wished.

He closed his eyes and laid his ears back on top of his head, slowly taking in the surrounding scents and noises around him. In mere moments he got a hold of Kagome's scent and according to him she wasn't too far away. So, without a second thought, Inu Yasha ran out of the small building that was wearily built around the well, only to find no Kagome.

Instead, his eyes set sight on a young woman who looked and smelt just like Kagome. But no, this wench could not be her. Not in his eyes at least. Only a mere three yards away sat the woman he laid eyes upon. Slowly he examined her, trailing his eyes down her body and taking in every detail. Her long black locks of hair were pulled atop her head in a messy bun. Black eye shadow was on her eyelids and a heavy, but not gaudy, amount of eyeliner outlined her eyes. A sparkle came from on top of one of her nostrils, indicating that she had her nose pierced. Along with a dark red tint that rested on her lips and just between her bottom lip and chin was a small silver ball showing she had her lip pierced as well. Plenty of her cleavage was shown with the shirt she wore. It seemed that she took a normal black shirt and ripped it completely off in the middle of the stomach, along with the sleeves and a V shape neckline. Her small flat stomach was exposed because of this, until her jeans came in view. They laid just on her waist, maybe a little lower. Although they were normal blue jeans they hugged her hips tightly and flared out slightly at the bottom, with holes in the knees. And finally he finished his examination as he saw her black converse chucks that were loosely tied to fit her tiny feet.

After blinking quickly a few times he shook his head to snap out of it. Her scent and features were the exact same as Kagome's. Could it be? Was this Kagome? He knew he had to find out and he began to walk closer and into sight until he spotted a young man sitting beside her. He seemed to be a year or two older than she is. His attire was pretty much the same. Loose baggy jeans, same converse shoes, and so on. His black hair was long in the front and kept neat in the back, along with blue streaks outlining it. He had his eyebrow pierced, as far as Inu Yasha could tell.

Once this man reached out and held Kagome's hand Inuyasha's blood began to boil. Quickly and without thinking, Inu Yasha quickly stepped into sight of the two. When Kagome glanced up for a mere second her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. Soon enough the boy she was sitting by noticed Inuyasha's dog like ears on top of his head.

"Hey dude." His voice was deep and low. "What's up with the ears on top of your head?" He laughed slightly.

Inu Yasha narrowed his eyes and glared evilly at the boy. "It's my early Halloween costume okay kid!" He quietly hoped that he had gotten the holiday and tradition that Kagome talked about all the time correct.

Quickly Kagome stood up. Her shirt shifting slightly causing her to show a bit more of her stomach. "Inuyasha! Leave Carson alone would you!"

At the sound of this, Inuyasha's temper grew. "Leave him alone! Where have you been? We have been worrie..." He stopped himself quickly. "I mean, _they_ have been worried sick about you so get your ass here right now." He stomped his foot and pointed his index finger to the ground.

She crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air, but she didn't seem to be as stiff or peppy like she normally was. She seemed laid back, more at ease and loose. "No!" Her scream broke the silence once more. "You're not my boyfriend and you never even cared about me! You screwed up six months ago so go home!"

The sound of the screams awoke Mrs. Higurashi causing her to run out of the house immediately followed by Souta and Grandpa. The first thing in Mrs. Higurashi's sights was the fuming Kagome that stood directly in front of her. Confused at what she was mad about, she followed Kagome's evil glare and sure enough there stood Inu Yasha. The smile on her face nearly split her head in two as she ran up towards Inuyasha. "Oh Inuyasha! Where have you been?"

Inuyasha, Kagome, and Carson's eyes widened as Mrs. Higurashi embraced Inuyasha in a tight hug. Out of instinct he gripped her back and looked down at her.

"Inu Yasha, Kagome has been acting like this for about five and a half months now and I am getting pretty sick of it. She is becoming out of control. Please! Bring her to her senses." She pulled back slightly and loosened the grip on him as she looked up.

He merely cocked his eyebrow like normal. "Feh! Don't worry. Now you all go back inside okay?" He was normally nicer to her than he was to anyone else. And she did as he said, turning around and dragging the curious Souta and Grandpa behind her.

He turned his smirk and still cocked eyebrow to Kagome and Carson. "So it seems that not only your looks have changed, but your personality as well. Maybe that explains the attitude you had with me six months ago." Without another word, he walked towards Kagome, who still stood fuming with her arms crossed. Carson had his arms loosely wrapped around her legs out of affection, which caused Inuyasha's temper to grow even more. "You're coming with me." He quickly scooped her up and threw her across his shoulder.

"Inuyasha!" She screamed and kicked, making his job more difficult for him. "Put me down right now you idiot!"

With a sigh he extended his claws and pressed them gently into her exposed back, but not enough to break the skin. "Still want to argue wench?"

Her eyes narrowed and she finally gave up. Reaching out and leaning over she grabbed Carson's hand, dragging him along behind her and Inu Yasha as they walked towards the well. "Look, I'll be home soon alright and when I get home I'll explain everything. Please! Do not speak a word of this to anybody. Love ya baby!" Quickly she kissed him on the lips before Inu Yasha flung her and himself over the wall of the well, allowing the blue mist to surround them, leaving Carson with a confused and tormented look upon his face.

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**Author's Note: **Hope you enjoyed it! Not much change really. Just a few spelling corrections in names and a couple of grammar errors now back to new. n.n Enjoy!


	3. Back To The Feudal Era

**Author's Note: **Okay. I know this isn't the original layout of Part I – Part VII, but it's all-good because I've decided to make a change. It's been about six months since I've worked on this story. Which is quite ironic if you think about it. Lol. You'll understand once you read the chapter.

But anyways, I realized a lot of mistakes while I was reading my previous chapters to pick back up on my story. And although I'm not going to change these chapters, I am going to fix corrections. Yes, the tiny voice in my head is screaming at me for making them in the first place, but things happen. All is good. So enjoy yourself if you haven't started reading the chapter yet.

**- - - - - - - - - - - -**

**Disclaimer: **I, Ruth Ellen Cottrill, otherwise known as HazardousChik69 or AnimePunk13, do not own the kick ass anime show that is known as Inuyasha. But what you don't need to know is how I secretly wish I did and worship the owner. Anyways… Lol.

**- - - - - - - - - - - -**

**Changes During Time**  
**Back To The Feudal Era**

As they ventured through the well, Kagome carried on with her kicking and screaming. "Damn it Inuyasha! Why are you doing this?"

He just narrowed his eyes and squeezed his claws into her back a bit more. The blue mist faded away, leaving them both with a clean feeling around them as they well came into site. With Kagome still tossed over his shoulder, he knelt down and leaped up and over the wall of the well.

"Put me down!" Her loud, shrilling voice filled the forest.

Inuyasha grabbed her roughly and tossed her to the ground, causing her butt to meet the hardness of the Earth beneath them. "Damn... that hurt." She stood up rubbing her butt at the same time. Once the pain subsided her evil glare was directed towards Inu Yasha. "Kagome, what is your problem?"

"What is my problem? You're the one who always yells at me and constantly pushes your feelings of me aside so I said forget it! I'm done with this shit Inuyasha. The girl you knew six months ago has changed. I met Carson two weeks after I got back from here and my life isn't as stressed. I'm not hauling back and forth between two different worlds or worrying if you are okay!" She paused for a moment, allowing herself to take in what she said. Did she really say she didn't worry about Inu Yasha any more? But that was the biggest lie she could have told. Every day that went by she sat on the edge of her bed and wondered if Inuyasha was still alive her not. She wondered if he even wanted her to come back. She looked at the ground, ashamed at what she said and when she looked back up, Inuyasha was nowhere to be found.

He had turned around and began walking away, towards Keade's village in hopes that she would follow and she did. She fell right for it.

As she walked slowly behind Inuyasha she whispered to herself. "Well, while I'm here I might as well visit Sango and the others. I do feel bad for yelling at Sango like that." She then ran her tongue across her lip ring and looked straight ahead.

Less than a half and hour passed by before they reached the village. To Kagome, the sight was beautiful, but the village seemed to be a little bit bigger than what she remembered it. Even though she silently wondered where Miroku, Sango, Shippou, and Kirara were she spoke not a word to Inuyasha. After all, she was still upset at how he got her here.

Fall had come and the leaves were scattered across the ground of the village. She had missed these people so much she couldn't remember why she left and she really didn't want to. A thought struck across her at that moment, she had changed, but would they understand? Slowly they entered the village, Inuyasha still walking about three yards ahead of Kagome.

Her eyes first set sight on Keade's hut. She had missed her so dearly and decided that would be the first place to visit. So without speaking to Inu Yasha, she trailed off towards the hut. Peeking her head through the certain she whispered lightly, "Keade, are you home?"

The child's familiar voice filled the hut and brought a smile to the old woman's wrinkled face. "Aye child. Come in." As Kagome entered she made herself a seat by the small fire in the middle of the room, but still saw no Keade. "I am coming." The woman lifted up the certain that lead to another room and entered the main room. Seeing just Kagome's backside confused Keade. "I'm sorry young one. I thought you were someone else." She slowly made her way around the fire to sit down in front of Kagome. "So, what is your na..." She stopped herself as she saw Kagome's face.

"Hello Keade." Her gray eyes looked up towards the elder woman.

"Kagome?"

She nodded slightly, causing a few strands of her messy bun to fall down in front of her face. "Yes, its me."

Keade's eyes glanced up and down Kagome. "Why do you wear rags child?"

A slight crimson flushed over her cheeks out of embarrassment. "These aren't rags. I cut them to be like this."

Keade just merely nodded, not really wanting to know why she did this. Then she noticed the small sparkle that came from here left nostril. "What is that dear child?" She directed her question to the diamond in her nose.

"Well you see..."

Before she could finish, Keade's certain flew open, revealing a very annoyed hanyou. "I turned around and you disappeared!" His loud voice filled the small hut easily causing both the women to cover their ears.

Once Kagome recovered from the loud yell she glared at him evilly. "I felt like visiting Keade first! You idiot. Just leave me alone."

Inu Yasha put his nose in the air. "Feh!" Slowly he walked over by the back wall and threw himself down on the ground with his legs and arms crossed. "Fine..."

She watched as he did so and shook her head at him. Then she turned to Keade. "Now... Oh yes. I noticed the village seemed a little bit larger than what I remembered it to be. Did it really expand?"

Keade nodded her head. "Yes it did. We had a few newcomers. You even know some of them."

"I do?"

Once again she nodded her head. "Why yes. Miroku and Sango built a hut on the outskirts of the village. And the small fox has been living with them as well."

"Is that so? Wow, I'm impressed. So maybe Miroku has matured a little?"

Inuyasha interrupted their small conversation. "Feh! Like that would ever happen."

Kagome slowly stood up and dusted off her butt. "Well I think I will go visit them." She swallowed her pride and looked towards Inuyasha. "Mind leading the way?"

He stood up as well and walked out of the hut, leaving Keade and Kagome alone. Keade's wise eyes looked directly at Kagome as she whispered, "Remember child. His feelings for you will be pushed aside as long as he thinks you don't feel the same way. But he stood by that well from dawn till dusk ever since you left."

She took in what the older woman spoke. Was she right? Did Inuyasha really have feelings for her or was she just trying to make her feel better? She decided to think about it later, for she was excited to see her friends after such a long time. "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

After she spoke she hugged Keade gently, which was interrupted by Inu Yasha practically ripping the certain off and peeping his head inside. "Are you coming or not!" Once again his angry voice filled the hut.

Both the women cringed as Kagome raised her head up. "I'm coming already." She turned towards Keade. "I will be back later to catch up. Take care." And with that she was out of the hut, following behind Inuyasha, who was walking down the main path in the village.

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**Author's Note: **Hope you enjoyed it! Not much change really. Just a few spelling corrections in names and a couple of grammar errors now back to new. n.n Enjoy!


	4. Friends Reunited

**Author's Note: **Okay. I know this isn't the original layout of Part I – Part VII, but it's all-good because I've decided to make a change. It's been about six months since I've worked on this story. Which is quite ironic if you think about it. Lol. You'll understand once you read the chapter.

But anyways, I realized a lot of mistakes while I was reading my previous chapters to pick back up on my story. And although I'm not going to change these chapters, I am going to fix corrections. Yes, the tiny voice in my head is screaming at me for making them in the first place, but things happen. All is good. So enjoy yourself if you haven't started reading the chapter yet.

**- - - - - - - - - - - -**

**Disclaimer: **I, Ruth Ellen Cottrill, otherwise known as HazardousChik69 or AnimePunk13, do not own the kick ass anime show that is known as Inuyasha. But what you don't need to know is how I secretly wish I did and worship the owner. Anyways… Lol.

**- - - - - - - - - - - -**

**Changes During Time**  
**Friends Reunited**

She silently watched as the young children of the village scattered about causing dirt and leaves to fly up slightly behind them from kicking their feet. A small smile came to her face. Had she really missed out on this much? Did Sango and Miroku move in together? Thoughts continued to cross her mind. They ranged from Shippou to Keade and from the shards, even to Inu Yasha. Before she knew it they had arrived on the other side of the village. She glanced up to see a small, cozy little hut that sat on the outskirts of the village, just as Keade had said.

"Is this Sango and Miroku's place?"

Inuyasha huffed and shook his head in a yes manner. "Sure seems that way, doesn't it?" Without giving his words a second thought he continued down the small dirt path that led towards the entrance. He just walked into the small hut without thinking about it, assuming Kagome would follow behind him, and in fact, she did.

The young girl glanced around inside, for its size the hut seemed quite cozy and very homely. "Mmm..." She smiled and sniffed the air once again. "It smells so good in here."

The familiar voice rang through Sango's ears. "Kagome!" Her voice echoed throughout the small hut. And within minutes she burst through curtains that lead to the main room. On her rampage across the room she suddenly came to a halt in front of Kagome. "Umm... Kagome?" She lifted up a piece of Kagome's ripped and torn shirt between her thumb and index finger.

Once again Kagome's cheeks flushed a light crimson color as they did early in Keade's hut. "Anyway!" She grabbed Sango's hand and cupped it between hers. "I've missed you so much." Even though she seemed a bit different, Sango couldn't miss that happy go lucky smile she always put on.

Following her lead Sango nodded violently, causing her hair to spring loose from being tucked behind her ears. "I know. We have so much to catch up on. Come, sit down." By the time she led Kagome over towards the small fire, she had calmed down a bit. Once they sat down, Sango had noticed Inuyasha still standing in the doorway. "Oh, Inuyasha, Miroku is out back with Shippou."

"What makes you think that I want to go out back with them?"

Kagome's eyes glanced over towards him. "Because Sango and I need some private time."

He cocked his eyebrow until he saw Kagome narrow her eyes. He then decided it'd be best if he did go outside and see what the pervert and shrimp was up to. "Fine!" And he stomped through the hut and out the back curtain.

Kagome then looked over at Sango with a satisfied look on her face. "All right. We have so much to catch up on." Her words were quickly followed by Sango's nod. "So, you and Miroku moved in together, huh?" She cocked her eyebrow at her friend and smiled mischievously.

Now it was Sango's turn to blush. "Yes. Well, once you left we knew it would be a while until you came back. So we figured we would share a hut because it would end up with less work for both of us. Well time passes and things change. I got closer to Miroku and I think I'm starting to have deeper feelings for him. But I would never tell him that." She shook her head in a no manner violently and waved her hands slightly. Once she calmed down she began to speak again. "Even though my feelings for him continue to grow, that doesn't mean he has feelings for me. I mean, after all, he is the biggest pervert I've ever met."

Kagome smiled sweetly and nodded. "Yeah, there is no doubt about that. But you should really tell him how you feel. You never know, he might feel the same way."

She nodded at her friend's suggestion. "Yes I know and I've been thinking really hard about it, but when I'm ready I'll know it and I'll be sure to tell him them. Okay!" She clapped her hands together. "Now lets talk about you!" A smile formed on her face.

"Well, what is there to say? Like you said, 'time passes and things change' and as you can see, I've changed quite a bit.

Sango nodded slightly. "Yes. She looked her friend over. I don't mean to be rude or anything Kagome, but why do you wear rags?"

She rubbed the back of her head slightly out of embarrassment. "They aren't really rags. I cut my shirt to be like this because I like it this way." She tilted her head slightly and smiled.

When she tilted her head Sango noticed the slightly sparkle on her nose and even though she noticed the small silver ball in her lip earlier she said nothing about it before. "And by the way. Do you know you have something on your nose?" She lifted her finger and touched the side of her own nose to show Kagome where she was talking about. "And something on your lip?" Her other hand reached up to her own lip and placed it once again in the spot she was talking about.

Seeing her friend do this caused Kagome to chuckle, for Sango did look quite funny with one finger on her nose and another between her bottom lip and chin. "Yeah, I know they are there. They're called piercings."

"Piercings?"

"Yeah. It's when you push a needle through your skin to make a hole in it and then you place a ring or stud through the hole. It's like a decoration on your face."

"I see. But why do you do it?"

She shrugged slightly. "I don't know. After I went back to my time I met a guy named Carson and he really got me into them. Its like a fashion."

Sango cocked her eyebrow. "So who is this Carson?" Another smile came across her face.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Outside the hut Inuyasha stopped just a few feet short from the back curtain. He silently leaned over towards the curtained and had listened in on their conversation. As the girls continued throughout their conversation he grew bored so he sat down Indian style by the curtain. Within another few minutes his elbow ended up on his knee and his chin in his palm. Slowly his eyes grew heavy until he heard something that struck his interest. Kagome had met a guy that she liked in her time. He quietly whispered to himself. "Was it that guy she kept trying to grab at?" Then those words rang through his ears.

- - Flash Back - -

He turned his smirk and still cocked eyebrow to Kagome and Carson. "So it seems that not only your looks have changed, but your personality as well. Maybe that explains the attitude you had with me six months ago." Without another word, he walked towards Kagome, who still stood fuming with her arms crossed. Carson had his arms loosely wrapped around her legs out of affection, which caused Inuyasha's temper to grow even more. "You're coming with me." He quickly scooped her up and threw her across his shoulder.

"Inuyasha!" She screamed and kicked, making his job more difficult for him. "Put me down right now you idiot!"

With a sigh he extended his claws and pressed them gently into her exposed back, but not enough to break the skin. "Still want to argue wench?"

Her eyes narrowed and she finally gave up. Reaching out and leaning over she grabbed Carson's hand, dragging him along behind her and Inuyasha as they walked towards the well. "Look, I'll be home soon alright and when I get home I'll explain everything. Please! Do not speak a word of this to anybody. Love ya baby!" Quickly she kissed him on the lips before Inuyasha flung her and himself over the wall of the well, allowing the blue mist to surround them, leaving Carson with a confused and tormented look upon his face.

- - End Flash Back - -

She told that mere human she loved him. His nose curled in disgust but his eyes showed nothing but hurt. Once again he whispered to himself. "Does she really love that human?"

His thoughts and small conversation with himself was cut off by the approach of Miroku and Shippou. The small little fox demon jumped up onto his shoulder and peeked around his head to look at his face. "I heard Kagome is back! I can't wait to see her!"

Miroku nodded. "Yes, it seems that is so, right Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha nodded and looked at the other two males. "Yeah, that's right. But it seems they wanted some 'private time'." He mocked their words in a girlish voice. "Feh!"

Miroku put his ear up towards the door. "Well it seems they are no longer talking. So shall we enter?" Shippou's answer was obvious as he quickly busted through the curtain and entered the main room.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

By the time Kagome got over her embarrassment she didn't have time to answer Sango's question before Shippou ran into the room, followed by Miroku and then Inu Yasha.

"Shippou!" She squeezed the small fox demon as he jumped into her arms.

"Kagome! I've missed you so much. You really shouldn't listen to what Inuyasha says!" He kept on rambling nonsense about small things that had happened around the village; every now and then Kagome would hear a few familiar words or names. She just smiled and nodded until he was finished.

Once he finished she sat him down on the ground and slowly stood up. "Miroku, I've missed you greatly as well."

Miroku watched as she stood up and didn't fail to notice the skin she showed. A smile growing across his face as he watched the muscles in her stomach move as she walked towards him. His eyes followed her hips while they swayed back and forth until his gaze was interrupted by a hard blow to the back of the head by Inuyasha.

"You stupid pervert! Get your mind out of the gutter!"

Kagome cocked her eyebrow and Inuyasha's behavior but shrugged it off and gave Miroku a hug. Even though the temptation was so great, Miroku kept his hands visible to Inu Yasha, not really wanting to feel another blow from him. She slowly released him and made her way back towards her spot by the fire. Behind her followed Miroku who sat down on the other side of Sango. Everyone was gathered around the fire except for one.

Inuyasha had sat back in the corner against the back wall, making sure he stayed away from everyone around him, not wanting anyone to see his face and the horror that filled his eyes. All he could think about was Kagome and this Carson person she mentioned to Sango.

"Aren't you going to come and join us Inuyasha?" She had finally decided to let the fight they had six months ago slide.

At her words he merely stood up and made his way out of the hut slowly. Once outside he disappeared into the darkness of the forest behind them.

Worry flushed over Kagome's face as she looked back at Sango. "What do you think is wrong with him?"

Sango shrugged slightly and looked at the doorway Inuyasha just went through. "I don't know, that's how he acted the whole time you were gone. You'd think he'd been much happier since you've returned to us."

Slowly Kagome stood from her spot between Shippou and Sango. "I'm going to go check on Inuyasha. I'll be back later on so don't worry and don't wait up." She smiled sweetly to her friends and left through the front entrance. She then followed the path the Inu Yasha had walked towards. "I wonder what is wrong."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Author's Note: **Hope you enjoyed it! Not much change really. Just a few spelling corrections in names and a couple of grammar errors now back to new. n.n Enjoy!


	5. Bring Me To Life

**Author's Note: **Okay. I know this isn't the original layout of Part I – Part VII, but it's all-good because I've decided to make a change. It's been about six months since I've worked on this story. Which is quite ironic if you think about it. Lol. You'll understand once you read the chapter.

But anyways, I realized a lot of mistakes while I was reading my previous chapters to pick back up on my story. And although I'm not going to change these chapters, I am going to fix corrections. Yes, the tiny voice in my head is screaming at me for making them in the first place, but things happen. All is good. So enjoy yourself if you haven't started reading the chapter yet.

**- - - - - - - - - - - -**

**Disclaimer: **I, Ruth Ellen Cottrill, otherwise known as HazardousChik69 or AnimePunk13, do not own the kick ass anime show that is known as Inuyasha. But what you don't need to know is how I secretly wish I did and worship the owner. Anyways… Lol.

**- - - - - - - - - - - -**

**Changes During Time**  
**Bring Me To Life**

"I don't understand." Her voice was low, but still carried through the forest. "Why did he just leave like that?" She slowly made her way down the path. Her gray eyes shifting constantly at the shadows that moved about around her. Her nerves tensed, but she continued, determined to find where Inuyasha was.

A twig snapped behind her.

Quickly she turned around. Her black locks of hair surrounding her face at the same time. Darkness had taken over the forest and gave her zero visibility. "Who... who's there?" Those where the only words she could stammer out.

"Shhh..." An oh-so familiar voice reassured her as muscular arms reached out and wrapped themselves around her slender form.

A small gasp escaped from between her lips. It startled her and she quickly put her arms up against her chest to push the figure away. But that smell, it seemed to draw her towards him. She knew who it was. "Inuyasha..." Her voice low and meant only for him.

He pulled her closer and rested his head on her shoulder, allowing her to nuzzle her face into his chest. "Yes?" His voice no louder than hers.

"What's wrong Inuyasha?" Her body relaxed, allowing him to pull her towards him.

What was wrong? He couldn't answer that question and he knew he couldn't. If he did, it would mean telling Kagome his feelings. Was he ready for that? So many thoughts crossed his mind but only one word left his mouth. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you leave me six months ago Kagome?" He took in a deep breath to keep himself together.

Kagome closed her eyes tightly as she thought of an answer that she could give him. But out of everything that crossed her mind, not one was good enough to give to him. "I don't know..."

He tightened the grip he had around her. "You have to know. You just left. I waited, but you never returned. It felt as if my life was slowly being taken away from me. I mean, after all Kagome, you are my life."

Those words rang through her ears. His life, was she really his life? Did she really mean that much to him? "I'm sorry Inuyasha..." A single tear trailed down her right cheek. "I'm so sorry."

The scent ran under his nose. That sweet scent of a fresh salty tear, one that was shed for him, a being not worth crying over. "Shhh, Kagome. Don't cry." He lifted his hand and wiped the single tear away with his index finger. "Don't cry over me."

"But you..." She took a breath to sustain herself from shedding yet another tear. "You are why I left. I felt like you didn't want me here any longer and that's why you always yelled at me. That's why."

"Never!" His voice was stern. "I would never push you away. You should know that Kagome."

She pushed on his chest slightly so she could lean back and look up at his face. The strong golden amber eyes she secretly fell in love with were filled with sadness and emotion. She pulled her right arm free and reached up towards him. Her hand extending towards his face. She cupped his face in her hand and smiled. Her thumb resting on his bottom lip. "Shhh..."

Kagome's actions caused his heart to skip a beat. For so long he yearned for this moment and it was finally happening. "Kagome..."

"Shhh..." She allowed her hand to slide down his neck as she leaned in. Her soft lips touching his in a sweet brief kiss.

Once it ended his eyes fell upon her and her beautiful figure. Did that really happen? His heart was beating outrageously.

"I love you Inuyasha."

Inuyasha's eyes widened slightly at these words. He had wanted to hear those words for so long. "I love you too Kagome."

A small smile appeared across her face. She would never forget this day. For she too had waited so long to hear those words from this man.

He pulled her closer to him, holding her tightly once again. Never wanting to let her go. Her sweet scent running under his nose, causing his senses to go crazy.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sango's eyes trailed over towards Miroku who had lain back on the ground. They then shifted in Shippou's direction. The young fox demon was lying close to the fire, all huddled up in a small ball. A light sigh escaped her lips.

One eye of Miroku's opened, only to see the oh-so beautiful Sango in his sight. He slowly opened the other one and adjusted his vision. Noticing the worry on Sango's face he sat up slowly.

She looked back over to Miroku once she noticed he was up. "Shhh... I don't want you to wake Shippou."

He nodded and yawned to wake himself up. "Why are you still awake?"

"I've been worried about Kagome and Inuyasha."

Indeed her voice did sound worried but he figured it'd be for the best to try to ease her. So he slowly made his way over beside her. "You know Sango, I am sure the two of them are just fine. You know, they can handle themselves."

She merely nodded.

"All right then, come here." He placed his arm around her neck.

She gladly sank down into his grasp, giving her entire body weight towards him, which didn't seem to faze him. Finally, he was doing something so sweet without being a pervert.

It didn't seem to last long as his hand made it's way towards her butt, slowly stroking it. Her eye began to twitch and within mere seconds Miroku had a red handprint across his cheek. She rolled over and lay down on her side with her back towards him. "The perfect moment, and he had to ruin it." She talked just high enough to hear herself.

He sighed and placed his hand in place of where she had struck him across the face and gazed into the fire.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

A low hum seemed to drift from her lips. "What's that?" Inuyasha spoke with his head still resting on Kagome's shoulder.

"It's a song."

"I see..." He turned around, gently pulling her behind him and sat down at the base of a tree, once again pulling her down with him. She ended up landing gently on his lap, her back against his chest. Once again he rested his chin on her shoulder and she leaned her head back against the trunk of the tree. "Please sing it to me."

She smiled gently and nodded ever so slightly. "How can you see into my eyes like open doors? Leading you down into my core. Where I've become so numb. Without a soul my spirit sleeping somewhere cold. Until you find it there and lead it back home. Wake me up inside. Wake me up inside. Call my name and save me from the dark. Bid my blood to run. Before I come undone. Save me from the nothing I've become.

Her voice carried throughout the forest. He whispered in her ear. "So beautiful. Please continue."

"Now that I know what I'm without. You can't just leave me. Breathe into me and make me real. Bring me to life. Wake me up inside. Wake me up inside. Call my name and save me from the dark. Bid my blood to run. Before I come undone. Save me from the nothing I've become. Bring me to life. Frozen inside without your touch. Without your love darling. Only you are the life among the dead. All this time I can't believe I couldn't see. Kept in the dark but you were there in front of me. I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems. Got to open my eyes to everything. Without a thought without a voice without a soul. Don't let me die here. There must be something more. Bring me to life."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Author's Note: **Hope you enjoyed it! Not much change really. Just a few spelling corrections in names and a couple of grammar errors now back to new. n.n Enjoy! Oh and the song Kagome is singing is Bring Me To Life by Evanescence. A kick ass song!


	6. So Much Has Changed

**Author's Note: **Okay. I know this isn't the original layout of Part I – Part VII, but it's all-good because I've decided to make a change. It's been about six months since I've worked on this story. Which is quite ironic if you think about it. Lol. You'll understand once you read the chapter.

But anyways, I realized a lot of mistakes while I was reading my previous chapters to pick back up on my story. And although I'm not going to change these chapters, I am going to fix corrections. Yes, the tiny voice in my head is screaming at me for making them in the first place, but things happen. All is good. So enjoy yourself if you haven't started reading the chapter yet.

**Disclaimer: **I, Ruth Ellen Cottrill, otherwise known as HazardousChik69 or AnimePunk13, do not own the kick ass anime show that is known as Inuyasha. But what you don't need to know is how I secretly wish I did and worship the owner. Anyways… Lol.

**- - - - - - - - - - - -**

**Changes During Time**  
**So Much Has Changed**

Morning rose before either couple had realized it and the brilliant sun was already half way through its path to its place in the sky. Inuyasha's ears twitched as a small bush to his left began to rustle. But before he had time to accuse who ever it was Shippou burst through with a gleaming smile on his face. As Kagome's eyes fluttered open she was met with a Shippou who was already in mid air to land on her lap. The young fox demon squeezed her gently in return of his surrogate mother's morning hug. "Good morning Kagome!"

"Why good morning to you too Shippou. Where are the others?" She cradled him in his usual position that he had grown so accustomed to before she left.

"They are on their way."

"Feh! Good!" Both sets of eyes fell upon the rude Inuyasha for an explanation. "What?" But his question was only answered by their stare. "You've been gone for a long time Kagome and..."

Before Inuyasha could finish Shippou cut in. "And we haven't left the well for too long in fear of you might come back with no one to meet you."

Inuyasha's brow twitched out of agitation as he closed his eyes. He rose his fist up but stopped in mid air as Kagome's voice rung through his ears.

"Inuyasha."

He opened his one eye, only to meet her devilish glare indicating that he was on the verge of a 'sit' command, so for once he did the wise thing and set his clenched fist next to his side. "All I'm saying is that we need to get a move on. We are way behind and for all we know, Naraku has more shards of the jewel already."

She sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I know and as soon as the others arrive we will eat and then we can leave." Her eyes trailed over and watched as Inuyasha silently agreed. And then, at that moment she realized her position.

Crimson flushed throughout her cheeks as she threw herself up and off of Inuyasha's lap, causing Shippou to fly a few feet in the air and skid to a small halt in the dirt in front of her.

Confusion crossed over Inuyasha's face at first and then he too realized their position. To avoid Kagome seeing him blushing he stood up as quickly as Kagome did and turned out. Bending down slightly and then jumping up into the tree they had sat under, landing on a small and steady branch.

The tension in the trio settled as Miroku and Sango entered into the clearing. An annoyed look was upon Sango's face as she approached Kagome. Miroku lagged behind in an attempt to stare at the young woman's bottom, but his efforts were in vain as he received an evil glare from Kagome. He smiled his heart warming, innocent smile, which made the red hand print across his face even more visible.

Kagome stuck her nose up, which was followed by Sango's doing so. Both women turned abruptly in the dirt and headed off towards the north, neither of them knew just why they were headed in that direction. Their actions were followed by the young kitsune, quickly catching up to them.

His feet hit the dirt gently as he landed on the ground at the base of the tree, watching as the women and the child took off, oblivious of their actions. "You shouldn't betray your own kind Shippou!"

Confusion met the fox demon's face, as he looked up at Kagome unsure of what to say. But he didn't have to speak as Kagome yelled back for him. "You mean Jerks?" Sango stifled a laugh as they continued to march away from the males.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed and he made a white knuckled fist. "Why you little..." But he was cut short when Miroku slapped his hand over Inuyasha's mouth, allowing the hanyou to shout out muffled curses to the particular female. "Now, now Inu Yasha! Just calm down."

"Calm down!"

Miroku sighed and slapped his hand to his forehead. "Yes. Calm down. Now let us take our leave with the young ladies. They do need our help."

Although their voices were faint Sango and Kagome still heard their words. "Were going to the hot springs! Stay there! We won't be gone long."

Once again aggravation began to take over the hanyou's face, but this time he kept his cool. "Fine! But if you're not back by sun down we're coming to get you." He took note that noon had already come and the sun was at it's peek in the sky.

She rolled her eyes and continued to make her way to the hot springs. "Yeah, yeah. We know."

They finally arrived and Shippou quickly took his place at the top of a large rock, staring down over the forest that surrounded the springs. "I'll be your look out." He threw his hand up to his forehead in an army way and snapped his feet together. Kagome noticed a few falters in his stance but didn't say anything as she giggled and slowly peeled her clothing from her body.

The women emerged into the hot water and small moans of pleasure escaped their lips as the water lapsed up onto their bodies. "This feels so good."

Sango nodded in agreement and sunk down into the water until it was over her shoulders and around her neck. "Very true." A smile plastered itself on her lips.

Shippou continued to look out over the forest but as each hour passed by slowly for him he grew bored. His hands ran along the small layer of dust that covered the rock he sat upon and he found a small twig. Absentmindedly he began to draw small doodles in the dirt. As he finished, the doodle turned out to be one of Kagome and under it in scratchy letters was the word "Mom". He had hopped he spelled one of the words Kagome had been teaching him right.

Sango's eyes shifted to the sky only to see the sun setting and allowing the stars to take their places. "It's getting late Kagome. Maybe we should be heading back?"

Kagome glanced over at her best friend with pleading eyes. "You go ahead and take Shippou with you. Tell Inu Yasha I needed a few minutes by myself."

Her best friend didn't bother to argue and she slowly drug herself out of the still steaming hot springs. She dried herself off with one of the towels Kagome had brought from home and redressed herself. "Come on Shippou!"

His eyes shot up to find Sango leaving, but there was no Kagome. He quickly trotted over to her side and looked up with his big brown eyes. "Where's Kagome?"

A smile formed on her face as she put her arms out for Shippou to jump into them. The fox demon happily took up the offer and rested against her chest as he would Kagome's. Lately he had grown closer than normal to Sango since Kagome wasn't around for over six months. "You see Shippou... Kagome just needs some time to think. So we are going back to camp and she will meet us there later." She had finally soothed him down and reassured him that Kagome would be all right as they left the hot springs.

She smiled hearing the way Sango and Shippou were talking before they disappeared out of hearing distance. Her eyes trailed up to the sky, taking in each bright speckled dot that sat in their place. "They're so beautiful." She spoke aloud to herself. She lifted her hand out of the water and began to skim the top of it with her index finger, watching as the ripples moved outward from the source of contact and finally dissipating into calmness.

A heavy sigh heaved itself from her chest and floated into the air. "There is so much to think about. Inu Yasha..." Her voice drifted into nothingness and then came out strong once again. "He's such a pig headed jerk! But, then again, he is so sweet and caring." She shook her head forgetting about her current love life back in her era. "What about Carson? How am I going to explain all of this to him when I get back? If I ever get to go back?" Her eyes rolled back out of annoyance of her next verbal thought. "Doesn't matter, I bet Gramps already made up some wacko story to tell the poor guy." Her finger continued to trail across the surface of the steamy water, as she grew deeper into her thoughts and more oblivious to the world around her.

A pair of golden amber eyes peered down at her, listening as her soothing voice carried itself up to his sensitive ears. His stance was stiff, but his clothing flocked around him in the wind. The silky silver locks he claimed as hair did the same, but quickly settled down as he moved into a closer range. Her voice growing louder and louder than it already was to him. "Intriguing."

Kagome continued to verbalize her thoughts, completely unaware of her new intruding visitor. "Being here is such a pain in the ass. I don't even know why I am here in the first place. After all, I know Inu Yasha loves that stupid dead bitch Kikyou." Her eyes glistened slightly at her words. "No, Kikyou's not a bitch, Inuyasha's a bastard." She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. "No, I didn't mean that either." Once again a sigh of frustration floated out into the hot air of the springs. "I don't know what I think. Maybe I should just give Inuyasha our shards of the jewel and leave this place forever? But then, then I would never be able to see Sango, Shippou, Miroku, or even Keade again."

Noticing she was caught up in her thoughts, he quickly made his way towards her, growing closer and closer by the second.

Her eyes fell upon the water, looking at her reflection, and watching as a tear slid down her cheek. She shook her head violently trying to get all of the past memories and thoughts out of her head, but it was no use. Her eyes slowly closed and her body slipped further into the water.

Kagome's eyes shot open as an unfamiliar presence ran up her spine. She looked around in front of her but didn't have to turn around as she saw the man's figure in the water as he hovered over her from behind. A smirk plastered on his face. "Sess... Sesshomaru."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Author's Note: **Hope you enjoyed it! Not much change really. Just a few spelling corrections in names and a couple of grammar errors now back to new. n.n Enjoy! Oh and the song Kagome is singing is Bring Me To Life by Evanescence. A kick ass song!

**Reviewer Responses: **I might not have many fans, but I'm extremely happy with the ones I do have. So I've decided to make a small section in each chapter to respond to all my reviewers!

little-angel-no-one-els: Thanks for all your reviews and I'm glad you like my story. I'm updating as fast as I can. I'm sure you know what writer's block feels like. Lol

Ainasister29: I'm glad you have enjoyed it so far, but the spelling of Inuyasha's name is not limited. If you read to manga it is spelled differently than it is if you watched the dubbed version on TV. Same as Kouga and Shippou. It all depends on how you've become accustomed to Inu Yasha. I prefer to spell it Inu Yasha, as you prefer to spell in Inuyasha. And I know I made a few mistakes here and there, but hey, who doesn't? Lol. (If you hadn't realized, I've corrected myself on this comment on Part VIII) Lol.

Lunar Eclipse: Glad you like the way everything is going. . I noticed a few people were shocked maybe even upset that Kagome turned into a sort of punk/goth chick, but hey, every fic is full of surprises. Thanks.

Shesshy-Slipperz/S.Wooz: You reviewed on ever chapter. Lol XD Thanks for your comments though. And yes, I did realize that I misspelled Kirara's name, but I am too lazy to go back and change it. So sorry. XD You are the reason I decided to bring Sesshomaru into the picture. The story needed a little spice and who better than Sesshomaru to give it to it, right? Thanks for your comments.

To Everyone Else: I'm glad you all reviewed and I thank you for that. It keeps me going and gives me inspiration, knowing that at least a few people out there enjoy my writing. I'm glad you all catch my mistakes because I'm only human you know. Thanks!


	7. An Unexpected Appearance

**Author's Note: **Okay. I know this isn't the original layout of Part I – Part VII, but it's all-good because I've decided to make a change. It's been about six months since I've worked on this story. Which is quite ironic if you think about it. Lol. You'll understand once you read the chapter.

But anyways, I realized a lot of mistakes while I was reading my previous chapters to pick back up on my story. And although I'm not going to change these chapters, I am going to fix corrections. Yes, the tiny voice in my head is screaming at me for making them in the first place, but things happen. All is good. So enjoy yourself if you haven't started reading the chapter yet.

**- - - - - - - - - - - -**

**Disclaimer: **I, Ruth Ellen Cottrill, otherwise known as HazardousChik69 or AnimePunk13, do not own the kick ass anime show that is known as Inuyasha. But what you don't need to know is how I secretly wish I did and worship the owner. Anyways… Lol.

**- - - - - - - - - - - -**

**Changes During Time**  
**An Unexpected Appearance**

Before she had time to think, her body instantly reacted as she turned around abruptly, but didn't dare to back down. "What are you doing here?" Her eyes were filled with a fiery glow that even the all might Lord of the Western Lands couldn't fail to notice.

His face went back to the emotionless expression it had always held. "Get out."

Kagome's eyes widened mostly out of shock, but the thought of exposing her nude body to the youkai sickened her to no end. "No." Her voice stayed stern to her own disbelief.

He narrowed his eyes and looked down on what he considered a maggot, just a mere being that ran upon the Earth using up a supply of oxygen. "You wench. You dare testify against me?"

Her mind reacted quickly, answering his question with a question of her own. "And you think I'm going to allow you to see me nude!" The voice that carried itself to Sesshomaru's ears was full of anger and disbelief.

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as her statement took him aback. "Do not flatter yourself foolish human." His attention was taken from her as a small rustle came from the bushes to his left. He mentally slapped himself for not noticing anybody coming near and for being caught up in his little encounter with the girl.

Kagome watched as he adverted his gaze from her and took this time to scamper out of the hot springs. As soon as he was about to look back at her, she snatched up the towel Sango had laid on the ground and clung desperately to her chest. Her insides shook with fear, but her face showed no sign of the emotion.

His eyes fell back upon her after realizing just a small forest animal had scampered by. He mentally slapped himself for this as well. His eyes shifted up finding the girl was already out of the water. '_Intriguing..._' Thoughts crossed through his mind. 'She stands up to me, knowing well enough I could kill her instantly.'

She continued to struggle with the towel to keep it properly placed on her front section, covering up as much of her exposed body as she could. Her other hand hung at her side clenched into a white knuckled fist.

Slowly he made his way towards her. And with every advancing step he made, she withdrew one. This continued until she came to a stop against the trunk of a large tree. '_Damn it. Way to go Kagome. Done backed yourself into a tree._' She continued to mentally curse herself as the inuyoukai advanced upon her quicker. Before she knew it his face was a mere inch from hers.

The smell of her fear ran under his nose and intrigued him even more. It had been three years he'd seen this retched girl and yet, for some reason, she just began to interest him. In an instant he snapped his arm up, shoving it into the trunk of the tree beside Kagome's head, his other hand following behind it on the opposite side of her head. This is when something dawned on Kagome.

'_He... he has two hands?_'

A snarl pulled at his lips as he took in the shock and fear in her eyes that she tried so desperately to hide behind bravery. "Are you scared?" His hot breath played upon the silky smooth skin on her neck.

Her eyes trailed up from his soft lips to his amber orbs he claimed as eyes. They seemed to be piercing straight through her and for some reason they rendered her useless. She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice failed at its attempt and silence consumed the both of them.

On the inside he smiled and took all of this in as a sort of sick game. Her silence confirmed his question, but he wanted to hear it from her. So he repeated his question. "Are you scared?"

Although she tried so hard to answer his question she couldn't get the words to form. Instead, when she opened her mouth for the second time her words sounded like mere mumbles, but he heard them quite clearly.

"Your arm..."

A smirk formed on his face, but disappeared as fast as it had shown up. "My arm? What about it?" His gaze shifted to each of his arms on each side of her head and then quickly back to her.

"But Inuyasha... he cut it off."

Once again his lips curled up in a silent snarl as his golden eyes pierced through her. "Stupid wench. I'm no mere human. How long ago has that been?" It was more of a demand than a question.

She pushed her body back against the tree, although it couldn't go back any further than it already was she would sure try like hell. But then she realized everything. It was five years ago when she first entered the feudal era, so that gave Sesshomaru's arm five full years to heal. Even the last time she recalled seeing him it was only healed about four inches past where it had been dismembered from the rest of his body and that was a little over three years ago. Her thoughts were cut short by Sesshomaru's thunderous voice.

"Well?"

"Five years." She spat out the words before her mind gave her time to think.

"Exactly. I am a full-blooded youkai. I heal faster than you pitiful humans do." As he spoke his eyes began to roam. At first they fell from her eyes to her lips, taking in the faint glow of pink they held. And his gaze didn't stop there. This is when he realized how much she had changed sense the last time he spared her a glance. He took note of how she filled out in all the right places. Her smooth curves were angelic like. His eyes trailed down her legs, which were bare from a little past her mid thigh and down, watching silently as the still steamy droplets of water slid down her silky skin.

She noticed and watched his eyes trail her body, causing frustration to build up in her. His eyes shifted to her feet as she stomped her bare right foot into the soft soil beneath them. "Ahem!"

Sesshomaru's eyes shot up, connecting with hers once again, noticing the furry they continued to hold. This only sent more of the sick pleasure he was awkwardly having at the moment. "You never answered my question."

Unable to look into his hypnotic golden eyes any longer she looked beyond him, finding a newly interesting leaf that swayed lightly. Her mind trailed off, noticing how the leaf seemed to be struggling to stay connected to the branch, to the one thing it has known it's whole life, as if it was afraid to let go of what it has known all this time. Her eyes softened as the leaf lost it's battle and the wind swept it away and carried it off from it's home, only to abandon it somewhere off in the distance.

"Answer me!" His voice roared through her ears, causing her own chest to rattle from the frightful sound. But although fear shook her inside, she shook her head.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"What!" Inuyasha's voice echoed through the small parts of the forest that their camp occupied at the moment. "You left her alone, knowing we were this close to the western lands?"

Sango put her hands up in an 'I mean no harm' manner. Shippou scurried up and onto her shoulders hiding halfway behind her head. "She said she wanted some time to think! I couldn't deny her her wishes Inuyasha." The demon slayer was growing impatient with her friend.

"Besides Inuyasha," Miroku had butted himself into the conversation on Sango's behalf after seeing her frustration. "Kagome can handle herself. She has been with us in this era for a little over five years now."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes into the back of his head out of annoyance. "That doesn't mean any..." He paused for a moment and perked up on his toes, raising his nose into the air to catch more of the scent that he had just caught hold of.

"What is it?" Miroku's voice once again intruding his thoughts.

A growl escaped from Inuyasha, warning the others to stay put as he crouched down and took off in a leap and a bound towards the hot springs Kagome was currently occupying.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"No." Although it surprised her that her voice didn't come out shaky she was happy it didn't. "I'm not scared."

His nails dug into the bark of the tree behind her. The force causing bits of the bark to break off and fall to the ground. His body language symbolized frustration but deep within his eyes she could have sworn she saw a slight hint of amusement flickering about. "Can you smell that?" His voice husky as he brought his face closer to hers.

"Smell what?" The words snapped out of her delicate mouth.

"The stench of a liar." His words swam through her head, tearing at every inch of her. But besides the point she knew she had to stand strong. "And what is this?" He slid his slender claw between her lip and the metallic ring she had replaced the ball in her lip with, tugging at it slightly. "You tarnish your face with such things."

She began to think of a witty come back when confusion crossed over her face as he pulled back suddenly and took to the skies. She allowed her body to give in and the fear to finally over come her as she slid down the rough trunk of the tree. Her once clean body now landing in the pile of dry dirt beneath her. Instantly it clung to her still wet body. Her face twisted in disgust before her thoughts wondered off.

'_It's true. Five years is a long time._' She sat silently at the base of the tree, mentally remembering the changes that have taken place between her and her comrades.

Sango had aged along with her friend, taking on more maturity than she already possessed. Her woman like features more noticeable than before. Although her black hair continued to grow out, she had discovered about Kagome's scissors and happily allowed Kagome access to cut and trim her hair when it grew past its original length.

Miroku on the other hand hadn't changed that much. His womanizing was getting better, but his hand continued to wonder off in places it didn't belong. But Kagome had a bigger issue to worry about with him. The whole in his hand he considered his wind tunnel was continuing to grow larger and she had secretly estimated that if they didn't find Naraku within the next year, he would be swallowed up and defeated by his own weapon. Although she knew he too knew this, his happy go lucky, cheerful face always brightened her day.

Inuyasha, he was a totally different force to be reckoned with. His face had taken on a manlier exterior to it, but he still had his boyish good looks. Lately though she has noticed a change in his behavior from when she last saw him. She took Kikyou in mind and wondered if he had begun seeing her again during her absence.

She shook her head, trying to get Inuyasha off of her mind when Keade entered her thoughts. The wise elderly woman continued to age and she had grown week. This didn't surprise Kagome, but deep down she didn't know what she would do without her here.

Her mind then traveled to her troubles at home. Souta was growing up. He was already in his middle school years and starting to deal with puberty. This thought made Kagome stifle a small laugh. She could just imagine her brother's voice squeak back and forth as it was doing so before Inuyasha dragged her back in the well. She then thought of her mother. The loving mother that made sure she had everything in her pack before she left for this era. The one who welcomed Inu Yasha into their home with opened arms. She hadn't changed much, but her face was beginning to show her age, although she was still beautiful in her own elegant way. Then there was Gramps who, like Keade, was growing old and frail, but Kagome would come to terms with this.

Kagome then shifted her thoughts to herself. She had just realized how much she, herself, had changed over the period of time like the others. Her hair had grown out into silky long strands of black, much like Inuyasha's. Her bangs now layered into it and gliding down her face. A while back she had filled out completely in all the proper places, giving her past school girl uniform a run for it's money, which is why she had decided to change outfits now and then. She couldn't believe how much things change during time. But between all these thoughts, her mind kept wandering back to the leaf she had noticed earlier.

"Kagome..." A masculine, but boyish voice cut into her thoughts. Her eyes shot up and made their way up to find Inuyasha standing in front of her. Although he smelt the stench of his brother looming in the air, he had decided it best not to mention it at the moment. "Kagome, are you all right?"

She merely nodded and allowed her eyes to drop back down to the ground. At that instant she took in the way she must look. Her hair was still pulled back into the sloppy bun that was still wet from the springs. Her wet, semi- sticky body clung with dirt and a small damp towel covered the front portion of her. Crimson flushed through her cheeks as she shot Inuyasha a glare from hell.

He knew better than to ask and quickly turned around. She slowly stood up. The sun was beginning to rise over the horizon and his body stood between her and it, illuminating his figure. His stance was straight and proud, a smile pulled at the corners of her lips.

"Go ahead."

His voice startled her for a minute. "What?"

"Go ahead and take another bath." A brief pause fell over the both of them. "I know you want to. And don't worry, I'll stay here and stand guard."

She allowed the smile to take hold of her face as she dropped the damp towel and entered into the springs with Inuyasha's back still towards her. "Thanks Inu Yasha." She spoke as she lathered shampoo into her long locks of hair. Silence only followed and she took that as a mental 'your welcome'. But in the truth she knew she wasn't worried. If Sesshomaru had wanted to kill her that instant, he would have. If anything worried her at all, it was what he had in mind for her.

"As soon as you're done we'll head out."

She rinsed the refreshing bubbles from her hair and nodded. "All right."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Author's Note: **Hope you enjoyed it! Not much change really. Just a few spelling corrections in names and a couple of grammar errors now back to new. n.n Enjoy!


	8. Straightening Things Out

**Author's Note: **Wow! I can't believe how much I've neglected this story! I haven't updated it since July 11, 2004 and it's currently January 21, 2005! I'm so sorry to everyone who has been reading. Back then I was so into this story that I couldn't stop writing, but when I finally took a break from it and my new boyfriend (who is currently my x, lol) started coming around more often I just couldn't find any time for it.

So I apologize once again and suddenly got this urge to read my older story. It shocked me to say the least. Lol. For one, I've realized how many spelling errors I made way back then, which I am still currently prone to, along with so many grammar errors. It's unbelievable. Plus the way I spell Inuyasha now is different from before and I laughed when I read the small dispute I had with one of my reviewers claiming I could spell Inuyasha like Inu Yasha.

It's hard to believe how much I've improved and I mentally slapped myself when I found all those errors in previous chapters. So… due to my fans (few… but still fans, lol) I've decided to pick back up on the story and see if I can spice it up a bit. Meaning once I finish this updating chapter I'll go back and fix all my previous chapters for new readers who just might happen to stumble upon my hopefully improved story known as "Changes During Time"! So here we go.

**Disclaimer:** For the, what seems like, billionth time, I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters on the show. Nor do I have permission from the genius who created this fabulous anime to alter his characters or use them in my story, but since this is an 'Inuyasha Fan Fiction' I don't think there will be any trouble with that. I'm just an overly excited fan girl who has a bit too much free time and loves to write about the irritable hanyou and his half brother but full youkai brother. So enjoy and please don't sue! n.n

**- - - - - - - - - - - -**

**Changes During Time  
Straightening Things Out**

Hours passed before the team of six had realized how long they'd been traveling. Small beads of sweat trickled off of Kagome's exposed forehead from the lack of exercise in the last past six months, but that wouldn't hold her back and she wouldn't dare tell her friends how she'd been slacking back in her time. But her dear friend Sango's curious questions interrupted her guilty thoughts only to replace them with even more guilt in the back of her mind.

"Kagome…" Sango's sweet and friendly voice carried across the six travelers, startling all but the one responsible for the voice.

"Yes Sango?"

"Well. I know this may not be the right time to ask, but I've been wondering about that guy you spoke about in your era."

Kagome's once pale face from exhaustion turned a light shade of pink before allowing her voice to emit a small 'oh' in return to her friend's comment.

A low snarl came from the front of the group as a certain irritable hanyou plodded along, listening in on their conversation.

Her cheeks slowly turned back to normal after realizing Inuyasha's small bout of jealousy. She then began to speak of her current 'boyfriend' in her time. "Well his name is Carson. I met him about two weeks after I went back home from here and we started hanging out. We ended up getting close and now I call him my boyfriend and he calls me his girlfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Sango's questioning voice interrupted Kagome's.

Followed by Miroku's interesting tone with, "Girlfriend?"

A small laugh emitted from Kagome's throat at the thought of two of her best friends not knowing what a boyfriend or girlfriend was. But how could they? After all, they weren't from her time and she was sure such things like that didn't take place 500 years ago, so she figured it'd be best if she explained. "Yes. A boyfriend is a guy and a girlfriend is a girl." The still questioning looks on their faces caused her to search for an example and the first person to pop into her mind would be the lovable hanyou that held her in his arms the night before. "Lets just say, if Inuyasha were my boyfriend, then I'd be his girlfriend. Meaning we would be together as a couple. This is how people in my era know who is with who before we decide to get married when we are older."

A light shade of crimson flushed through Inuyasha's cheeks. Feeling the burning sensation on his face, he decided not to turn around even though he too was becoming more intrigued by the conversation Kagome, Sango, and Miroku were having.

"I see." Miroku's thoughtful and strong voice caste over the group, causing the others to wonder what he was truly thinking. But they didn't have to wait for long, for he spoke his perverted thoughts aloud as normal. "So if Sango and I were, 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend', I would be able to touch her beautiful body." A devilish smirk crossed his face.

A gasp emitted from the black haired demon slayer behind him. Mere seconds later she had pulled her Hiraikotsu easily out of the strap that bound it to her back and thwacked him over the head with it, leaving a nasty bump and a content demon slayer after the noise.

Inuyasha silently shook his head at the monk's stupidity. Followed by the same action from Kagome and confused and puzzled looks from Kirara and Shippou. Sango's voice soon broke the silence once again. "Shall we make camp then? It is getting awfully dark."

The young hanyou raised a hand to protest but held his tongue once seeing the exhausted expression on Kagome's face. "Fine. Miroku and I well set out for fire wood."

The monk didn't dare protest against the already annoyed looking hanyou as he trotted after him, leaving the two raven-haired women to their own thoughts.

**- - - - - - - - - - - -**

Back in Kagome's era, a restless boy tossed and tumbled in an unfamiliar bed. His black bangs plastered to his forehead from the great deal of sweat the dripped down his face. He suddenly shot up with a puzzled look on his face.

Mrs. Higurashi peered into Kagome's bedroom, where Carson had been resting, only to find the once unconscious boy now fully awake and a bit confused. Her slender figure entered the room, startling him slightly before he realized who it was. Although he and Mrs. Higurashi had their differences, he had always thought of her as a kind woman.

Her soft and kind voice carried through the small room. "So it seems you're awake." A kind hearted smile decorated her thin face, which in some ways resembled that of Kagome's.

"Oh." His once weak voice stiffened slightly out of confusion. "Mrs. Higurashi?"

"Yes dear. I walked outside after Kagome and Inuyasha had left, only to find you had passed out in the well house. Is everything okay?"

He bobbed his head up and down, causing his black bangs to fall loose in front of his face, only to raise his hand and tuck them back behind his ears once again. "Inuyasha?"

"Yes. Inuyasha was that young man who came to see Kagome."

"I see." Carson's once fuzzy memory was beginning to become clearer as the woman before him spoke of previous events. "I remember. He swung her over her shoulder and drug her away from me. Where did they go?"

Mrs. Higurashi paused for a moment, unsure of what to tell the poor confused boy that sat before her. She then decided it'd be best to tell him a small white lie until Kagome returned from the feudal era to confirm everything. "Well it seams that Kagome's grandmother is growing ill. So Inuyasha was sent her to fetch her and take her back to Okinawa, where her grandmother lives until she recovers."

"Okay." He raised his once shaky hand up to his head, once again trying to make since of the messy scene that replayed over and over in his mind. "But why couldn't you go?" Once he realized how rude his question must have seemed he quickly rose his hands up defensively. "I didn't mean any disrespect or anything Mrs. Higurashi, but…"

Carson's frantic apology was cut off my Mrs. Higurashi's light chuckle. "It's quite okay. I didn't go because I have plenty of responsibilities here at the house, taking care of Grandpa and Souta and all. So Kagome, being the sweet girl that I know she is, volunteered about a week ago to go when Inuyasha came."

He nodded once more, finally coming to terms with all of Mrs. Higurashi's lies, which he presumed to be the truth. His eyes scanned over to the window, only to see darkness consume the Higurashi Shrine. "How long have I been out?"

"About two days. It's dark out now, so I wish you would stay here and rest in Kagome's bed. I know she wouldn't mind."

He paused a moment, pondering the thought and slowly nodded in agreement.

"Good then." Her cheerful voice filled his ears once more. "Then I shall wake you for breakfast in the morning and you may leave when you wish, or stay with us since you are Kagome's… friend." She smiled once again.

Carson nodded slowly and lay back once more. "Good night Mrs. Higurashi, and thank you."

"You're very welcome Carson. Good night dear." The woman then turned on her heals and exited the room, flipping the light switch and shutting the door on her way out.

He closed his eyes and it was soon before sleep consumed him.

**- - - - - - - - - - - -**

**Author's Note: **Wow! I think this is a record length for this story! Lol. I have something to admit and yes, I'm very ashamed of what I'm about to say, but it is something I must get off my chest. Here it goes. I have no idea what I have in mind for this story! There! I said it! Lol. It might sound stupid but it's true and it's risky actually. Because I'm a person who changes her mind often, meaning there are a lot of twists and turns in my stories in the first place, but I truly have no idea what I'm doing with my story.

This is probably another reason why it's been so long since I've updated! After all, it's hard to write a story that you have no idea what you're doing with. So this is why I like your reviews. Be sure to put lots of comments and even flames in them if you wish. They help me improve! And I'm sure you noticed I popped back into Kagome's era to update you all on Carson and the present family. It just seemed strange talking about him in the story without properly introducing him sometime in the story. Well I think that's all the notes I have for you at the moment. Please review!

**- - - - - - - - - - - -**

**Vocabulary: **This is a random section I've decided to add whenever I use a 'new' word. Meaning, I put myself in the shoes of a new Inuyasha lover. So I picture myself not knowing what a hanyou or youkai is. Or maybe even a monk, or the name of Sango's weapon. So I will add that word to my expanding list in this section. This way they will eventually learn them. Lol. Believe it or not this is how I learned the very few Japanese words and suffixes I know today, because of random writers making a section like this. By the way, this section will stay in alphabetical order. So enjoy.  
Demon Slayer – It is exactly as it says, a person who slays demons, such as Sango.  
Hanyou – A demon that has half human blood and half demon blood, like Inuyasha.  
Hiraikotsu – Sango's large boomerang she claims as a weapon that she carries on her back. You often hear her yelling the name of her weapon in the series before letting the massive structure hurdle towards her opponent.  
Monk – A holy figure, such as Miroku.  
Okinawa – A small section of Japanese with a distinct name. I, myself, do not know much about this place, but my mother has traveled to it during my father's time in the military and always tells me how beautiful it was there.  
Youkai – A full-blooded demon, such as Sesshomaru.

**Reviewer Responses: **I might not have many fans, but I'm extremely happy with the ones I do have. So I've decided to make a small section in each chapter to respond to all my reviewers!  
INUGIRL: Thanks so much for your review. I'm glad you're enjoying my desperate attempt at an Inuyasha fan fiction. Lol.  
Mysterymaiden7: Same goes to you as well. Hopefully you'll return to the updated chapter. Thanks for your review!  
Carly: 'Cool' eh? Lol. Glad you think so. Hopefully it will become even better.  
Shesshou's Bynx/S.Wooz: Hey there. I can't believe you've still continued to review. Don't get me wrong now, I love your reviews and wanted to thank you. Oh! And to tell you I'm sorry and that I didn't disappear. Lol. Plus I'm back and roaring with new ideas, but suggestions from you and the others would never hurt. Lol. Thanks for reviewing.


	9. It Feels So Right

**Author's Note:** I know it's been nearly a week now, but I'm trying my best to juggle this story and many things I have going on in school such as my 'mock year book' which I am currently working on in journalism. Not sure where I want to take this chapter just yet so we'll just see how this all unravels.

**Disclaimer: **If it isn't obvious, I am not the rightful owner of the show known as Inuyasha or any of the original characters from the show used in this fan fiction. If I were, I wouldn't be writing about them like this. Lol.

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**

**Changes During Time**  
**If Feels So Right**

Chocolate eyes gazed into a lit fire, which bind the small group of travelers together. They soon shifted over to check on the state of her friends. Miroku slept easily with his back placed against a large tree trunk and his golden staff in hand. A transformed Kirara circled around her master's form, leaving Sango in warmth throughout the night. The young Shippou had dozed off extremely early, curled up in Kagome's sleeping bag. And although Kagome and Inuyasha were the only ones left awake, a rush of loneliness passed through her when Inuyasha took to the nearest tree to clear his thoughts. So there she sat alone, with only her thoughts to accompany her.

'_Sesshomaru…_' No matter what she did, that name crossed her mind, sending her attempts at other thoughts into oblivion. '_…But why? Why did he not kill me when he had the chance to get rid of one of his brother's companions?_' Kagome was soon drug out of her thoughts of the demon lord when the sound of rushing water reached her ears. She spoke her thoughts aloud. "Why did Inuyasha not tell me there were springs near by?" The young miko reached down, snatching up her bow and arrows before heading off in the direction of the newly discovered springs.

Silence coated the air while Kagome slowly proceeded. Half of her wished for no one to be there so she may bask in the glory of relieving herself of more stress, but the other half screamed for her to go back as if something up ahead may change her destiny forever. But despite both sides of her conscious she continued. Her right hand lifted up, moving small branches out of her view only to discover a small but beautiful waterfall in her sights. The turquoise water called out her name in muffled waves as it clasped down on the small pond it formed beneath it. It was then Kagome realized the other presence.

A slender form stood in the middle of the pool, the water coming to the middle of his chest. Though she could only see the back of his head, long silver locks adorned it, falling down his back and laying out in the gentle water. His muscular arms moved in fluid motions as he cupped water in his hands, pulling it up his body and releasing it to acquire the warm comfort of it. Though she wished to have gawked at the lovely figure before her, her own presence didn't go unnoticed for long. The man before her arched his neck, turning just enough to see the young woman, a small smile etching on his delicate features.

Her dark eyes widened and out of reflex her arms shot up, readying her bow. The calming sound of rushing water was interrupted by the twinge of the bow's string as Kagome held the arrow in place. Her eyes followed the slender weapon and landed the tip of it on her target through her vision. "Sesshomaru…"

"Kagome." his voice seemingly a bit louder than hers.

Her body shook slightly, causing the arrow's tip to move back and forth off her target. "Tell me! Why are you so close to our camp?"

"I merely wished to bathe. That is all."

Narrowed eyes formed followed by her reply. "There are plenty of springs to bathe in. Why this one?" Only silence followed her question. "If you don't wish to answer that, then tell me. Why did you not kill me last night?"

Yet again silence was the only thing heard. Instead of speaking, Sesshomaru slowly turned around. His cool exterior masked his anticipation and desire to touch the woman before him. Slowly he rose from the springs, closing the distance between the two step by step until he had finally emerged from the water. Droplets of steamy water rolled down his well-toned body. Kagome's eyes followed the trails they left, soon realizing his nude being standing before her. "Sesshomaru!" She gasped before her cheeks flushed crimson and a burning sensation flooded through her body.

"Is something the matter Kagome?" He spoke as if what he had done was simply normal. After all, what did he have to be ashamed of?

"Yes! There most certainly is something the matter!" She broke out of her embarrassed state and straightened her stance up once more, her arrow still pulled back in her bow. "You're nude! Put some clothes on!"

Another fog of silence crept over them before he decided to answer her command with another of his own. "Or perhaps you should take yours off."

She choked on her breath at his odd request and gazed at him with wide eyes. "I think not!"

"Really." This girl began to intrigue him once again. "Why? Is it because of Inuyasha? Do you care for him, love him even? Or is it because of someone else? Perhaps another mortal back in your era."

'_Inuyasha… care for him, love him, but how if I am uncertain if he still loves Kikyou or not? Carson… he wouldn't understand my powers or my time travels. He only knows the mortal Kagome._'

Sesshomaru closed the distance yet again while she was deep in thought. It was true. He could have killed her the night before, he could have even killed her this very second just as easily, but something under his skin tugged at him not to harm this miko. His right hand slowly crept up and placed itself on her left shoulder. She soon snapped out of her thoughts realizing the short distance he had closed between them. "Sesshomaru…"

The smile from before replaced itself upon his face. "Do not fight it Kagome. Just simply join me in my bathing." His hand slid from her shoulder down her arm and onto her hand, tugging at it gently to loosen the arrow and put the bow to her side. She did so, willingly dropping her bow on the ground beside her while gazing up at him in awe. Yet again he had managed to catch her attention and hold it.

His fingers intertwined with hers, turning around slowly and leading her back to the small pool of water. Once they reached the edge, he let his fingers slide from his as he emerged back into the sanctuary, leaving her behind.

Small ripples of water rushed themselves to her feet, splashing gently on her shoes. Without turning back up to look at the lord before her, she gently knelt down, unlacing her shoes and pulling them off easily. Once casting her shoes aside she rose again, unbuttoning her jeans and pulling the zipper down slowly, tugging at them gently as they slid down her slender form.

Sensing her slow movements, he turned his head slightly, only to find the woman he desired standing before him in a mere black bikini like underwear and her torn and tattered, mid belly length top. "So you've decided to join me?"

She too answered with words while slowly stepping into the water, allowing the warm liquid to engulf her. Once the water was to her mid thighs she slowly came to a stop. Crossing her legs and placing her hands behind her back, her eyes trailed to the water as another rush of crimson and heat flooded through her cheeks.

He turned his body completely around to face her. "What's the matter?"

"This feels so right that it's beginning to feel wrong."

Sesshomaru once again moved towards her, placing his hand behind her head. "Then let the feeling go." He pressed his moist body against hers while capturing her lips in a deep kiss.

She too desired the taste of his lips, but at that instant her hand shot up, placing it upon his chest and pushing him back slightly, just enough to break the kiss they just shared. "Sesshomaru, I'm sorry, but I just can't. Not right now."

She watched her lips moved as they spoke, taking in every word and every movement they made. "I understand but you must realize Inuyasha does not understand how beautifully and powerfully you really are."

A small sigh escaped her lips while she let her hand slide down his stomach and back to her side. "I'm sorry, I have to go." And with that, she turned and scurried out the water, hurryingly picking up her clothing, bow, and arrows.

Once she had made it half way back to the camp she pulled her pants back on and slid her untied shoes back onto her petit feet. When she arrived, everyone was still sleeping, just as she expected. Kagome gently laid her weapon down between her sleeping bag and the fire, gently cuddling up with the still sleeping Shippou. Her eyes gazed into fire before her, watching as flames licked at the air. Morning would soon accompany them and she needed up much awaited sleep so she closed her eyes in a frail attempt to acquire it.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - -  
**

**Author's Note: **This story is beginning to get a little heated between Sesshomaru and Kagome so I think I'm going to up the rating on this story. Hopefully not too many people will be mad with my decided pairing of Sesshomaru and Kagome, but Sesshomaru is my favorite character along with Kouga. Lol. Hope you enjoyed! And I would really appreciate some reviews.

**Vocabulary:** Just one word as far as I can see.  
Miko – A human, normally female, who has unusual spiritual powers such as Kikyou or Kagome.


	10. The Deadly Command

**Author's Note:** OMG! I've been gone for so long that it isn't even funny! Well here's the story weather you believe it or not. Lol. My Dell computer crashed as soon as I got it fixed. Yes... I was extremely pissed off, but I delt with it. It took forever to get it fixed. It's all good though because it's up and running. I don't have Microsoft Word anymore though, at least not right now, so I have to type on WordPad and hope that will let me upload my story. So here we go yet again. Please don't be angry. Lol.

**Disclaimer:** I clearly don't own Inuyasha even though I wish I did because I would have paired them up already instead of having the girls angry at the guys. Lol. But it's all good.

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**

**Changes During Time  
****The Deadly Command**

The sun rose slowly, bring warmth to the still sleeping beauty with coal black hair. The silver haired hanyou watched her intently, awaiting for her to stir awake so they could continue with their journey, but time seemed to drag by. Her chocolate eyes opened slowly, only to find his tall pressence blocking the sun, sending small strips of light into her eyes. "What are you doing?" She sat up slowly, rubbing her sleepy eyes with lightly clenched fists.

"Waiting for you to wake up. You sleep forever"

A small spout of anger shot through Kagome's body as he continued to speak of how slow she has been. "Well excuse me for needing sleep. After all I didn't get to bed until late last night"

"And why is that"

She paused a moment, wondering just how she would get herself out of this one, but pushed it aside. After all, it really wasn't any of his business. "Just mind your own business Inuyasha"

He grunted lightly and with a huff he turned on one heal and walked towards Sango and the others.

Sango shot up worried eyes as the hanyou returned from visiting the once still sleeping miko. "Inuyasha. You should really try being a bit nicer to her. After all, you are the one who caused her to go back over six months ago."

He growled yet again and readied himself to plop down upon a broken log when an unfamiliar scent swished passed his sensitive nose. His eyes narrowed with that oh so familiar hate as he whispered a solumn name, "Kouga"

The wind began to pick up around the small group of travelers. Leaves stirred unrestlessly and debris scattered around the ground. A large tornado could be seen off in the distance. Sango and the others instantly knew who their new guest was without the help of Inuyasha's sense of smell. The gust of winds surpassed the main group and proceeded on before stopping in front of Kagome. As the winds and debris died down, a strong figure stood before the young miko. His masculene arms extended out and took her hand without a second thought. "Ah, lovely Kagome. It's good to see you back." He then brought her hand up and gently placed his lips upon her smooth skin.

No matter how many times this event had happened in the past, it still brought a hint of crimson to her cheeks. "Kouga." She giggled lightly before pulling her hand back. "It's good to see you as well"

The you wolf-demon prince brought his deep brown eyes up to lay upon the lovely woman's face. A look of confussion crossed over his facial features before straightening up. "Kagome? Why would you tarnish your beauty with such things?" He then reached his hand up and placed his claw between her lip and the ring which was placed in it. She pulled her face back with a saddened look upon her face. "Truthfully Kouga I don't know." A small pause over came the both of them but she soon broke it. "It's nice seeing you though. Perhaps I'll see you again shortly"

He nodded. "You can count on it." And before Inuyasha could react to his visit, the prince was gone, leaving only dust and debris in his path.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - -  
**

Hours had passed and the whole day seemed to fly by. Kagome began to slow down, growing tired from their long journey. "Inuyasha, I think we should make camp"

Sango paused along side her friend, nodding silently in agreement with what the miko had said. "She's right Inuyasha. I'm getting tired as well"

The silver hair hanyou, who had taken his place in the front of the group camp to a slow stop once he realized his companions began to slow down. "We're not making very good timing and the fact that you two want to stop so early every night isn't helping it much"

"All we want to do is rest." Kagome's tired voice came after his.

He narrowed his eyes slightly. "I don't see why though. Night hasn't even set in all the way and you two want to stop!" His voice began to rise as he spoke. "If we keep this up we're never going to find Naraku and that means we'll never get his part of the jewel"  
"I don't care right now Inuyasha! Sango and I are tired! We need to rest!" Her voice began to grow in unison with his.

Sango sent the monk a worried look as she slid out of the line of fire between her two comrads and took a safer place beside Miroku. "I'm worried about them Miroku." Her voice left her throat in just a whisper. "If they keep this up were never going to get anywhere"

The monk merely replied with a simple nod of his head.

The feude between the hanyou and the miko waged on. Horrible words were exchanged in the process along with violently stares from both sides which would strike a mortal man dead. "Inuyasha!" Her voice rose even louder over his insults of being a wench. "I'm sick of this! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit!" She continued with one deadly comand after another until the hanyou's face was burried deep into the ground. Soil wedged between his beautiful silver hair as he began to eat dirt after each sit comand. His arms spread out and his hands clutched the air, looking for anything to grab ahold of, but nothing came to his grasp and he fell towards the command of the lovely miko before. It was strange how such a lovely creature could cause such pain to one man.

By this time, night had engulfed the sky and pushed the sun over the horizan. Owls sat perched upon branches, watching the fatefull event fall before them along side the two's companions. Kagome clasped her hands together, as if wipping dust off her palms before retreating her arms to her side. "Well. Shall we make camp then"

The demon slayer and the monk merely nodded. "We'll find some fire wood." They spoke in unison as they turned on one heal and headed towards the forest in search of what they said.

Kagome they took a seat upon the soft soil beneath her feet. The earth seemed to welcome her with open arms. Soon enough her friends returned with handfulls of fire wood. Sango laid her bundle in front of Kagome while Miroku set his to the side in order to keep the kindle going all night long. Shippou jumped and perched himself in Kagome's lap then nestled down into her warm comfort. Sango and Miroku retreated to the other side of the fire, giving Kagome room to stretch out. Soon enough, the night engulfed them as well and the three were fast asleep.

But Kagome's eyes trailed up to the starry night, watching it intently. Unknown to her though, the hanyou whom she had feuded with not too long ago, was long gone into the forest.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - -  
**

**Author's Note:** Dun dun dunnn... Alright. I hardly ever leave 'to be continued...' stories, but this just called for one. Besides, my butt hurts and I wanted to finish this chapter to let you guys know that I'm still alive and kicking. Though I do have a broken ankle, I'm still kicking. Lol. So I've decided to give you guys a little taste of what's to come. Maybe you can give me your input and I can make the chapter to my adiance's liking. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please review!

**What's To Come: **Next time on 'Changes During Time -- Part XI'... Inuyasha has taken off from the group from the anger boiling within him. What happens when he runs into Kikyou and what about an unknown 'no'? All this and more action in the next chapter. Be sure to check back soon!... 

**Vocabulary:**  
Demon Slayer – It is exactly as it says, a person who slays demons, such as Sango.  
Hanyou – A demon that has half human blood and half demon blood, like Inuyasha.  
Miko – A human, normally female, who has unusual spiritual powers such as Kikyou or Kagome.  
Monk – A holy figure, such as Miroku.

**Reviewer Responses:** Wow! 40 reviews! I can't believe it! Lol. Well here is a response to the few who reviewed for chapter 9. XD  
inlovewithsesshoumaru - Lol. Thanks for the compliment and sorry that I haven't updated in a while. But I promiss I'm going to try to keep up with it from now on. Plus... I'm in love with Sesshoumaru as well. And I've also noticed that I've been spelling Sesshoumaru like Sesshomaru without the silent 'u' and I appologize. I've just recently read an article on it and have realized the importance for the 'u' along with Kouga. n.n Lol.  
TheBlackdemoness - Well, just so you know I've taken your suggestion of seeing Inuyasha and Kikyou together into consideration and have come up with a plan. Lol. You will see what happens in the next chapter. Dun dun dunnn... Lol. Plus, thanks for the compliment. I'm glad you think I'm so talented. Lol.  
philosopherknight - I'm sorry you don't like the way I portrayed Kagome, but I'm glad you stated your opinion. As you can probablly see I'm slowly changing Kagome back to normal which has been the plan all along. I hope you read this and will continue with the story. If not, thanks for trying it out.  
tinak142 - Sorry I haven't updated in so long. I'll be sure and try to keep it up. Thanks for being such a devoted reader to my fic. n.n  
Psycogirly - Thanks for the compliment. I'm glad you liked it so much. And I'll tell you what I've told the others, thanks so much for reading and I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long. Hope to see you reviewing more. n.n


	11. Caught In The Act

**Author's Note:** I started this chapter immidiately after I posted Part X. Aren't you proud of me? Lol. Yeah, well I'm pretty proud of myself. Not sure where I'll take this chapter but I have a slight idea. Hope everything goes okay and I can keep my imagination flowing. Remember: The more reviews I recieve, the sooner chapters will be posted. Lol. Awesome. Let's read! 

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Inuyasha or any of the original characters. Duh! Lol. So don't sue. Now let's continue shall we? n.n

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**

**Changes During Time  
Caught In The Act**

A little less than an hour had passed since night engulfed the sky, pulling the clouds into a darkness of their own and spreading small stars over the land. Inuyasha's golden orbs jerked from right to left, taking in the dark surroundings around him as he sprinted his way through the dense trees of the forest. 'How dare she!' His thoughts raged through his mind. 'I'm only doing what's best for the group! If she could only see that!' 

The gusts of wind coming from his speed pushed the rest of the debris from his beautiful silver hair. 'I don't understand!' His mind cried out once more before pushing all of such thoughts away. Then he realized something. That oh-so-familiar feeling of her.

His sprinting increased, leaving only dirt and leaves behind him in his path. Her scent began to grow stronger and soon enough he could sense her pressence as well. "What is she doing here?" He spoke aloud not taking anyone else into consideration. Slowly he came to a mere walk as he approached her scent. "Kikyou..." His brow furrowed in confussion.

Black,soulless eyes looked up from the ground. "Inuyasha." Her voice didn't waver as it spoke. "It seems you've found me once again."

The hanyou paused a moment before slowly approaching the lifeless woman before him. "What are you doing here?" He bit his lip slightly to keep his words steady.

"Nothing really. Enjoying the beautiful scenery." She lifted her hand as if to show Inuyasha the lush vegitation that surrounded them, but as she did so one of her many soul collector's swept down, releasing a single soul into it's master and then flew off once again. "But I believe the more important question is what are you doing here?" She aloud her hand to fall to her side once again.

"I..." He paused a moment, looking at the woman before him. Her kimono fell in beautiful layers around her figure, suiting the priestess just fine. "I sensed you..."

**- - - - - - - - - - - - -  
**

Meanwhile...

Kagome sat, bewildered at the thought of betraying Inuyasha. Her chocolate eyes searched for a reason to stay true to him, but found nothing in the darkness. They then fell towards the young kitsune laying in her lap. He had curled up earlier and dozed off to sleep so easily. A small smile crept across her pale lips as she watched him breath. 'He's just like a son...'

With that thought reality took it's toll on Kagome's mind and a battle between right and wrong waged on in her head. But soon enough she knew what was right all along. 'That's it. To Shippou I'm his mother. I'm a good friend to Sango and Miroku, along with Kirara. I'm a lot of things...' The echoeing of Inuyasha's voice entered her head. The word wench vibrated over and over again until she shook her head violently to stop it. With all her movement the young fox demon stirred slightly. She quickly stopped her shifting and settled down in order not to wake him.

'But that's one thing I'm not. I'm not a wench.' She paused a moment, thinking over everything which had entered her head within the last half hour or so. 'I'm also not a punk...'

The miko lifted her hand from stroking Shippou's soft fur and touched the ring which was placed in her lip. Her eyes fell upon her comrads once more before she began tugging at the ring. Soon enough she had pulled the metal apart, allowing the small black ball to fall from it's place. Once she had done so she proceeded to slide the ring over and pull it out of her lip. She followed this task by pulling the small stud out of her nose.

Her eyes trailed down to look at the pieces of metal in her palm. "Why?" She spoke aloud but low enough so no one would stir. "It wasn't me..." Her eyes then pulled themselves up once more to take a look at Sango. "These people are me..." A small smile spread across her face as she let the pieces of metal fall towards the ground.

Kagome's now free hands presumed to wrap themselves around the kitsune and gently pick him up. After standing up as well she easily placed him back down on her sleeping bag, allowing him to continue his dreams in the land of slumber.

The miko turned on her heals and continued her stride towards the battle ground which she and Inuyasha had waged war upon. Her eyes trailed over the edge of the large crator which had been Inuyasha's defeat. She continued to look around in search of the hanyou but to no avail. "Where could he have gone." She then looked up to find a path of destroyed tree branches and stirred debris. "I guess he can't be too far away. Perhaps it's time I apologize?..."

Her feet began to carry her to the man whom she sought after.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - -  
**

"So you sought after me, Inuyasha?" The elder miko said with such an icy tone it would have sent chills down any mortal's spine.

The hanyou paused a moment before realizing what he had confessed. His amber eyes, which seemed to be illuminated by the moon's rays of light, drug themselves from the ground and eventually found themselves falling upon his former love. "Kikyou. I..."

His frail attempt to express his thoughts were cut off by her icy tone. "Hush Inuyasha." At the same time she easily closed the distance between the two of them and slowly brought her index finger to his lips, placing it gently on them in order to cease his talking.

Confused eyes gazed back at hers, seeking answers he had sought after so long ago, but found nothing. His instinct was to ask her these questions in order to find the answers he failed to see in her lifeless eyes, but instead he kept quiet as she had insisted and merely brought his arms up to wrap around her.

She aloud this embrace and fell forwards into his arms, nudging for him to wrap them tighter and engulf her in the familiar serenity of safeness she once felt so long ago. "Inuyasha." Her eyes gazed towards the ground.

He said nothing in return so she presumed to talk. "These souls keep me alive. I lived my life long ago and died honorably, taking the shikon no tama with me. This is why that young girl companion of yours is here." She paused a moment. "But she disappeared a while ago. Before that time, I saw she was falling in love with you and you with her. This tore me up inside. All I wanted was to be with you."

"Kikyou." Inuyasha interrupted her delicately planned words. "What are you trying to say."

She paused a moment, allowing the silence to thicken the air around them. Her index finger slid up his back and aloud her hands to hold onto his strong shoulders. With her eyes now towards the ground she began speaking once again. "What I'm trying to say Inuyasha is that I want to be with you for all eternity. Come. Say you love me as well and we will enter into another life together."

**- - - - - - - - - - - - -  
**

Not much time had passed before the young miko sensed the pressence of souls. "So many in one place? Kikyou..." Her tredding slowed as she approached the small clearing. At first Kikyou was the only one in her site, but as she came closer Inuyasha came into view as well. The sight of this froze Kagome in her tracks and she soon took cover behind a large batch of thick bushes just before the clearing.

Though she was out of hearing range, her eyes told her the whole story. It was true. Kikyou still cared for Inuyasha and Inuyasha still cared for Kikyou. Memories from the past began wedging into her mind.

The incident where she had been kidnapped not long after she had been introduced to the feudal era. During that time Kikyou was reserrected. The two struggled for the greater half of their shared soul, but in the end, Kagome was the one who came out victorious, leaving Kikyou with only the hatred of her former lover and thoughts of revenge to live on.

Then the many times of finding Inuyasha and Kikyou, intertwined in eachother's arms as they were now, entered into her head. Her mind snapped and tears began to flow from her closed eyes. Her eyelids shot open and chocolate brown orbs faced the hard reality she saw standing before her. 'I'm such a fool...' Kagome's unsteady limps pushed her up. She immidiately turned on her heal and took off at full pace towards the west...

**- - - - - - - - - - - - -  
**

A sudden wave of salt hit the hanyou's sense of smell, causing his head to jerk in Kagome's direction. 'How could I have been so foolish...' His eyes then trailed down to the dead miko he held in his arms. "Kikyou. I..." Her lifeless eyes gazed back at his. He then unlocked his arms and pulled back from her. "No."

**- - - - - - - - - - - - -  
**

**Author's Note:** Okay. I finished this chapter in three days, mainly because my cousin spent the night with me for one of those days meaning I didn't spend much time on the computer. I'm sorry if this chapter was a bit confusing, but I couldn't help it. I had to go back and forth between Inuyasha's current place and Kagome's current place. Well I need to know if you guys like what I'm doing with this story. Don't worry! There is way more action to come, mainly in the next chapter. Lol. But please review so I know. Oh and I also need to know if you guys like my new 'What's To Come:' section that gives you a small summary to tell you what to look forward to in the next chapter, or if you would just like to leave it up to your imagination. Alright. Well I think that's it. Later!

**What's To Come:** Next time on 'Changes During Time -- Part XII... Kagome runs from her current situation of seeing Inuyasha and Kikyou together, but she finds herself in the western territory where the western lord Sesshomaru reigns high. What will happen when Inuyasha runs after her and discovers Sesshomaru, his brother and enemy. Will Kagome be able to step between the brothers without getting harmed or has Sesshomaru's affections been an act the entire time. Find out in the upcoming chapter!

**Vocabulary:  
**Demon Slayer - It is exactly as it says, a person who slays demons, such as Sango.  
Hanyou - A demon that has half human blood and half demon blood, like Inuyasha.  
Kitsune - A young demon like Shippou.  
Miko - A human, normally female, who has unusual spiritual powers such as Kikyou or Kagome.  
Monk - A holy figure, such as Miroku.

**Reviewer Responses:** Here we go.  
sabbs - Thanks for the compliment. I'm glad you like it. n.n Hope you like the next two chapters as well.  
Sesshou's Bynx/S.Wooz - Wow. XD Long account name. Lol. I'm glad your back to read my fic. n.n Lol. Hope the upcoming chapters are as appealing to you as the ones before them. And thanks for the love, my fic and I need it. Lol.  
hermonine - Glad you like. n.n I updated as soon as I got a decent amount of reviews. zoie101 - I'm sorry. Everyone makes mistakes, but if you want to tell me where it is either by e-mail or in another review then I'll be happy to go back and fix it. n.n Sorry once again.  
inlovewithsesshoumaru - I'm happy you liked it. n.n That's my goal. Make my reviewers happy. n.n  
inugirl - Well here it is! n.n


	12. A Stolen Kiss Of Innocence

**Author's Note:** Figured I'd get started on this chapter sense I'm having a hard time sleeping. Even though I should be doing makeup work from missing the rest of the school year, this is way more fun! n.n So enjoy! And remember: REVIEW! Lol. 

**Disclaimer:** I clearly don't own Inuyasha even though I wish with all of my power, which is none, that I did. Poor me. Now on with the story!

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Changes During Time  
A Stolen Kiss Of Innocence

Sobs filled the night's air as a teary-eyed Kagome ran through the dense forest in the western lands. Her tired feet had carried her as far as they could and soon she began to slow down from lack of sleep and exaugestion. "Why?" Her random question cracked through the songs of many crickets that resided around her, but no one seemed to answer back. The forest grew quiet. 

Soon enough, her weary limbs gave way to the pull of gravity and she found herself on the forest floor. Tears continued to stream feely down her cheeks. Her eyes grew red and heavy from the amount of crying she had done within the last half hour. Though she tried to tell herself it wasn't worth it, the memory of seeing Inuyasha and Kikyou together again brought more.

Her tired, chocolate brown eyes gazed at the forest floor, secretely wondering what she had done to deserve such pain. Despite the fact of the many times she had watched Inuyasha plummet to the ground with her deadly command, nothing came to mind. "Why!" Her voice rose, echoeing through the tree tops and pushing all other sound away. It was a question she desperately wanted an answer for.

"Why what?" A calm voice vibrated off her ears, causing the young miko to jerk her head up. Her eyes shot from the earth to a tall, dark figure standing before her. "You ask why, but you give me no facts."

She narrowed her eyes in a desperate attempt to give the figure before her a face, but her attempt was in vein and all she could see was a tall, narrow figure with long flowing hair in the darkness. "Se... Sesshoumaru?..." Her voice came out in an unsteady tone at first, but she quickly steadied it. She then flung her hands up in clenched fists to whipe the tears from her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I believe it is my right to ask you that question."

Kagome allowed her hands to drop to her sides, touching the cool dirt beneath her. "What do you mean? Where am I?"

"You, my dear Kagome, are in my territory." Sesshoumaru quickly closed the large gap between the two of them with a single movement before he continued speaking. "You have wondered into the western lands." His slender hand rose up from his side.

The young miko stumbled for her bow and arrow, but found she had left it behind at camp with her comrads. Her eyes shot up towards him in horror, expecting an immidiate death by one of his many venomous attacks. But to her surprise, he out-stretched his arm and offered her his hand. She wearily gave hers in return and slowly stood up with the youkai's help.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - -  
**

"Inuyasha." The dead priestess looked at him with horror. "What are you saying?"

He gazed back at her, keeping his distance as he did before. "No."

"No what?" Her calming voice began to rise over his. "Are you saying you don't want to be with me!" She narrowed her eyes in frustration awaiting the hanyou's reply with little patience.

"No. I do." He shook his head in frustion. "I mean I did! But this isn't right!" He turned on his heal, ready to head in Kagome's direction when Kikyou placed a hand upon his shoulder. Her skin held no warmth, nor did it feel welcoming and loving. He paused a moment, wondering exactly what she wanted.

She sighed lightly in her head before continueing to speak. "Do you really mean it?"

He closed his eyes, taking a moment to think about her question, but soon found his answer. Once he opened his eyes from pondering the thought, he pulled his shoulder away from her grasp and took off into a fast-paced sprint, following the scent of Kagome's tears.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - -  
**

Kagome wiped more of her tears from her burning eyes, the salt from her skin sending more irritation towards them, but she merely blinked the small pain away. Once she collected her thoughts she began speaking to the youkai lord which stood strong before her. "Sesshoumaru, I'm sorry I have invaded onto your territory. I will be leaving."

As soon as she spoke her final word he butted himself into her thoughts. "Don't." Though his voice didn't show it, he truly wished for the miko to stay as long as she wished, perhaps longer, but he would never speak such feelings towards a mere mortal. "If you wish to go then I will not stop you, but I wish for you to stay."

She smiled inwardly, keeping a straight face on her outer appearance as she bowed her head in thanks. "Thank you Sesshoumaru. I am truly sorry for intruding, but many things have happened."

Sesshoumaru cocked his right eyebrow in curiousity, secretely wondering to himself exactly what his mutt-faced brother had done to the girl this time. True, Inuyasha did care for Kagome and would never put her life in danger, but he very rarely took her feelings into consideration. His mind jerked at this thought and he quickly began telling himself nor did he in order to keep his feelings for the woman standing before him at bay. "Is that so?"

She nodded slightly, her chocolate eyes casting towards the ground once again, this time finding her feet mere inches from Sesshoumarus. It wasn't until then she had realized how close they had gotten within the last few minutes. "Yes, but I will not put my sorrows on you."

"If that is your wish." He spoke not another word, allowing the heavy fog of silence to drift over them both. His amber orbs watched in awe as her dark as night black hair bellowed gently with the calm breeze. Their eyes gazed into each others for what seemed like an eternity, each exchanging a glance of lust towards one another, knowing fully well what the other had in mind. Though, neither of them spoke. Eventually, he rose his masculin hand towards her face, watching with amusement as she stood tall, not flenching what so ever at his actions. Nor did the young miko break eye contact from the strong youkair lord. His hand cupped her chin gently, allowing his thumb to take it's resting place on her plump lips. He then spoke of something he had realized the moment he spotted her in his territory. "I see you have rid yourself of those tarnishing things on your face."

Kagome nodded gently, being careful not to move too much for she didn't want his touch to leave. "Yes, I did."

"Good. Your beauty extends beyond them, but they gave you no justice. Now, with them gone, your beauty can radiate miles from where you stand." Her eyes widened lightly in awe at the beautiful words he spoke to her, taking in every syllabol of what he said. Then, before she had time to react, he captured her lips in a lucious kiss. At first her eyes widened in shock, but she soon gave way to the sweet necter upon his lips, taking in every drop of the delicacy. Her eyes closed, allowing him to take her lips for his, deepening the kiss.

As their tongues danced among each other, a certain hanyou prowled through the trees. The scent of his beloved Kagome reached his nose followed by a retched stench of a family member whom could never be forgotten. His bare foot pushed off a single branch, causing dead and alive leaves alike to rustle among each other. Once he protuded himself into the air, he drew his faithful Tetsuiga from it's sheath on his side, raising his sword high into the air. His voice bellowed out over all other living things as he came into Sesshoumaru and Kagome's site. "Kago...!" But once he saw the site before him, the end of her name filtered off into dead silence. "me..."

**- - - - - - - - - - - - -  
**

**Author's Note:** Okay okay okay! I know there was no action what-so-ever in this waited upon chapter, but I couldn't help it. I began loosing inspiration because of the small gap of not writing. Plus to mention the pressure of homework, more my mom than anything for it, and everything else, I was worried I wasn't going to get this chapter finished. I did though, and so I wouldn't keep my trusty viewers waiting any longer, I decided to post it like it is. This way you guys know that I'm still alive and kicking. Plus anothing cliff hanger. Dun dun dunnn... ... runs Please don't kill me!

**What's To Come:** It seems Inuyasha has intruded on a very private moment between Kagome and his dreaded brother Sesshoumaru. What happens when Inuyasha refuses to listen to Kagome's frail attempt at an explanation for their bold actions? Will he cease his attack on Sesshoumaru and call peace? Doubtfully. It's well anticipated that the two brothers will end up in an all out battle for the single miko girl standing between then. But was Sesshoumaru's kiss true or did he fool his way into Kagome's heart. Find out next time in Changes During Time... Part XIII...!

**Vocabulary:**  
Hanyou – A demon that has half human blood and half demon blood, like Inuyasha.  
Miko – A human, normally female, who has unusual spiritual powers such as Kikyou or Kagome.  
Youkai - A full blooded demon.  
Youkai Lord - This is a full blooded demon lord like Sesshoumaru. What's the difference between this and a regular demon? A demon lord has power of a certain territory and underlings. He is also normally feared by many others.

**Reviewer Responses:** And now for my trusted viewers... more like 'reviewers!  
hermonine - Thanks, I'm glad you liked the chapter and I'm trying to keep it up, but it's getting kind of hard. Lol. Remember... ideas and reviews help! Lol. Thanks for yours!  
Sesshou's Bynx/S.Wooz - I updated! But left you with another cliff hanger. I'm gonna become famouse for them. Lol. But yeah, I can't wait till you update yours as well.  
inlovewithsesshoumaru - Thanks so much for the encouraging words. Lol. I don't have to worry about the mental hospital goal... I don't think they'd wanna keep me. XD Lol. Remember, ideas help! See ya next time.  
INUGIRL - Well here it is. I'm sorry it's not as soon as my other chapters, but it's up right? That's all that matters. Lol. I guess.

**Remember: **REVIEW! Lol. It might not seem like it but even if you don't have a lot to say it helps with encouragement. Like: "Wow. These people actually like my story! I should update!" Lol. And be kind with misspelled words. I don't have Microsoft Word so no spell check. Just lemme know and I'll fix it. Later!


	13. Battle Between Brothers

**Author's Note:** Ah! I need to start working on this and getting more information. How am I suppose to keep you guys under control without supplying a decent amount of updates! Lol. I dunno, but I'm glad a few people like my story. I'm not sure how far I want to take this one though, so I think I'm gonna hold a pole at the end of this chapter. Lol. Now on with the story. 

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Inuyasha I would have Sesshoumaru shown with his shirt off more often so I can drool over his sexy-ness. n.n Thus meaning I don't sense we hardly ever see the demon lord half nude! Damnit! Lol. Oh well...

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**Changes During Time  
Battle Between Brothers**

Dead silence crept into the air during the awkward moment. Inuyasha had intruded on Kagome locking lips with one of his arch enemies, but yet both sides felt betrayled. Her chocolate eyes widened in shock as she heard her name being screamed through the tree tops and they stayed plastered that way as she gazed at the hanyou before her. "Inuyasha..." Kagome's voice came out slightly saddened at what had happened.

Though her voice reached Inuyasha's ears, she couldn't be heard. A loud ringing had struck his ear drums. The annoying sound pushed its way over all other noises, even that of his once beloved Kagome. So instead of hearing her soothing voice, only a muffled sound came through. His amber orbs stared at the site before him, watching in disbeliefe as his half brother dropped his hand from Kagome's face and unlocked her lips all in a few seconds. Why? Why did he see that? His thoughts shouted towards the sky, asking Kami himself why he tortured him so and toyed with his emotions as he had done before. "Kagome..." The ringing in his ears broke free at the sound of her name falling from his lips. "Why Kagome?"

"Inuyasha I can explain!" Her voice turned suddenly from worried to frantic and she quickly spun on her heel, facing him fully. She continued on with her explanation, stuttering words such as I, you, and well out over and over again in a continuous pattern, searching for the right words to put the situation into.

He did his best to listen, but the closed minded hanyou wouldn't hear another word. Rage over came him at the single thought of their locked lips and the kiss they've once shared. "Die!" Inuyasha lunged forward with his sword high over head. Kagome's eyes widened at this site and quickly turned with her eyes closed, in horror, secretely wondering if she was his target this dreadful day. But despite her thoughts, a gust of wind swept pass her and soon enough, the clashing of swords was all she heard. The sound was followed by another and another intertwined with small grunts of heaving and pushing. When she stood and turned, a horrific site fell before her. Her friend Inuyasha and her new found love Sesshoumaru were battleing over her. "Stop it!" Despite her will to stop their war, the brothers continued on.

"Inuyasha. You stand no chance." Sesshoumaru easily pushed back, dodging Inuyasha's famouse Wind Scar. He then countered it with an attack of his own, sending a great amount of force in Inuyasha's direction.

The hanyou wouldn't take it. He quickly brought his trusty weapon up, blocking Sesshoumaru's attack with very little effort. "No Sesshoumaru! This time you don't have a chance!" A low growl emitted from his chest as he sent another Wind Scar in Sesshoumaru's direction. Though it was a decent attempt, it too was easily blocked. "Damnit!"

Kagome tried yet again. "Stop it!" Her voice carried over all other things, but was still ignored by the two brothers. She continued watching on in horror.

The half brothers collided once again, sending a large shock wave of contact around them. The ground shook beneath the three, but only had Kagome holding onto dear life. This continued again and again in a continuous pattern. Inuyasha would attack and Sesshoumaru would counter. Both watched with amusement in their eyes. Soon enough cracks began forming on the ground, shooting here and there in random directions. They had no specific target, but the earth swallowed anything that fell in it's way. Trees, as old as the hills themselves, fell at the mercy of the brothers' mighty swords and through it all, Kagome's horror turned to anger.

"Kagome!" A familiar and friendly voice called out over the commotion. Just behind the voice followed Sango with Miroku and Shippou riding upon the trusted youkai known as Kirara. The four landed with grace and hostility in front of Kagome, prepared to protect her from any harm. The same feminem voice from Sango continued on. "Stay back Kagome!"

The teary-eyed miko gazed up at the back of her friend's head. The young kitsune she claimed as her own stood betweent he monk and the demon slayer. He stood strong and brave, though it was noticable enough that he had stepped back behind their legs every so slightly in fear. She smiled inwardly, wondering why her friends protected her when in fact she had caused the battle before them. "Sango." She lifted her hand and wiped her eyes, drying them immidately, but the demon slayer did not turn around. Instead she watched in awe as a raged Inuyasha tore at Sesshoumaru, not backing down for a moment. Though her friends were in front of her, chocolate eyes peeped between a set of two legs, watching yet again. The anger which had formed from horror continued to grow.

One after another their attacks continued, pressing on despite their viewers. Blood spilled from an opened wound which Sesshoumaru had made on Inuyasha's left shoulder. All the while he too suffered from a serious wound by Inuyasha in his midsection. Despite their random injuries, they proceeded on, slashing at each other over and over again. And since each used their surroundings of dense trees it was both helpfull and held a disadvantage.

Though their wills were strong, each brother began weakening slowly after each attack. By the early hours of the morning the fight had taken it's toll on each of them. Their battered bodies continued to lunge after each other in a desperate attempt to end each others life until eventually Inuyasha fell to his knees. Sango, Miroku, and Kagome watched in shock as Shippou curled into the welcoming comfort of Kirara's fur from protection of the gruesome battle.

The hanyou looked up, fear no where to be found in his eyes as he gazed forward towards his brother's form which had grown quite hazy over the past hour. "You never stood a chance." Sesshoumaru's calm and collected voice reached the ears of his victom and spectators. "Now Inuyasha. Die!" He rose his right hand up, extending his fore and middle fingers, allowing them to glowan illuminatinggreen and extend into his famouse poison whip.

But before he could have his final attack on Inuyasha the young miko yelled out. "Stop it!" She pushed through her comrad's legs and tripped and stumbled until she finally came to a stand still in front of Inuyasha. Miroku and Sango looked on in confussion. "Stop it!" She shouted once again. Her arms jerked up in a defensive manner, making a one woman wall of protection in front of the battered Inuyasha who watched on from behind. "Sesshoumaru." Her voice coming out as stern as before but a bit lower. "Listen. If you truly meant what you've said before then you'll stop it."

The youkai lord's amber eyes looked upon the beautiful woman before him. She had done it again. She had taken his attention away from his task at hand, sending chills down his spine with a single glance of her eyes, and brought him from a mighty dog to a mere puppy. "I see. You've taken this half breed's side." A small hint of betrayl shot through his every nerve, sending the sensation of anger towards his mind.

She shook her head violently back and forth. "No! But.. I don't take yours either." Silence casted over the small group, allowing her to speak and explain what she had said. Even Shippou had peared over Kirara's thick fur in order to watch his sarrogant mother. "I care for you." Her arms slowly dropped towards her sides, allowing them to hang loosely. She then began a slow and steady walk towards the man before her. "But Inuyasha is still my friend and I couldn't bare to see him hurt." She continued her slow stride, eventually reaching him. Before her stood the all mighty demon lord of the western lands, but she didn't waver. "Go and seek me out some other time. I promiss I will follow."

He looked at her disbelievingly. She had just admitted in front of her comrads that she would willingly follow him when he came for her. Could this be true. "I trust you speak no lies." And with that, the mighty youkai turned and took towards the sky, streaking them with the blood of a battle well fought.

Once Inuyasha's enemy had left she turned, only to find the badly injured hanyou face down in the grass and surrounded by their comrads. She watched with slight amusement as Sango scavaged through a small First Aid kit she had left here so many months ago while Shippou aided Miroku in getting Inuyasha comfortable on Kirara and finding a decent amount of fire wood.

Kagome approached the frantic group with a calm exterior. She knelt down silently, taking the bandages out of the confused Sango's hand and taking her place in aiding Inuyasha. Her gentle hands padded his wounds dry with a moist cloth Shippou had fetched from a nearby spring. She then easily wrapped his wounded shoulder first. She continued this technique on his other wounds with such perfection it was quite obvious she had done this many times before in the past. Once the weak hanyou was completely bandaged she lifted her now blood covered finger tips, kissing her index and middle fingers, then placing them gently on his forehead beneath his silvery hair. She watched him sleep almost peacefully, knowing all the while that the morning only brought questions from her now sleeping comrads.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Author's Note:** Finished! Whoot! Yes, I finally finished this chapter. It was a big fight scene mostly and I wasn't sure I was up for the task but I don't think it turned out too shabby. Lol. I'm starting to get confused on this fic. I have figured out what the final chapter will be, but everything in between that is a bit hazy. Lol. I'm not sure how long it should be or anything. I guess I'll figure something out, though reviews and ideas help! Lol.

**What's To Come:** The battle waged on, but eventually Kagome brought the feuding brothers to a stop when Inuyasha's life was placed directly on the line. Sesshoumaru abided by her wishes and left, but not without Kagome's word that he could return for her when he wishes, but exactly when would that be? Kagome is faced with bigger problems at the moment, like answering all the questions her friends throw her way and attending to an injured Inuyasha with Sesshoumaru still lingering in her mind. How will she give her friends answers she doesn't want to say? Find out next time of Changes During Time - - Part XIV...!

**Vocabulary:  
**Hanyou - A demon that has half human blood and half demon blood, like Inuyasha.  
Miko - A human, normally female, who has unusual spiritual powers such as Kikyou or Kagome.  
Monk - A holy figure such as Miroku.  
Youkai - A full blooded demon.  
Youkai Lord - This is a full blooded demon lord like Sesshoumaru. What's the difference between this and a regular demon? A demon lord has power of a certain territory and underlings. He is also normally feared by many others.

**Reviewer Responses:**  
Sesshou's Bynx/.S Wooz - I'm glad you like it. runs away from you You're dangerous. Lol. But that's what makes people and things fun. Lol. And congrats on your stories! I update as soon as I get a few reviews and/or have the chapter complete. Please! Pretty pretty please answer the questions in my current poll! Lol. Hope this chapter is to your liking. XD You're one of my main reviewers!  
animefreak404112 - Whoot! Long reviews make me excited and encourage me to write more even if they end up being ramble bableing. XD Lol. I'm so glad we've found another Sesshoumaru fan because he is clearly dead sexy! Lol. And yes, I've pulled those all nighters reading a fic I've fallen in love with many times before so I feel your pain. Though I haven't had a personal experiance with the monkeys before. Lol. Sounds like a lot of fun though. I'm so glad you like my story. Hope you keep reviewing. Remember the poll! Lol. Hope you like this chapter as well.  
inlovewithsesshoumaru - You again! Lol. Not a problem, I love your reviews and glad you've decided to read my story. And I feel ya about the mental hospital thing. Lol. I'm also glad you liked the previous chapter. It might not seem like it but it was very tirering. Lol. Enjoy!... v The poll! v Lol.  
kari konoko - Sorry, but I don't think you reviewed on the last chapter. Lol. I'm not one to forget my viewers, but being the idiot I am I wouldn't put it pass me. Lol. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter though, along with the rest of my story. Hope this chapter is to your liking as well. Enjoy and please return with another review, they are more than welcomed.

**REMEMBER THE POLL!** Lol...

**Current Polls:** If you answer the below questions then I can offer you one of three things. You can either have a link to your site or profile page on my profile page, do a link exchange with me, or request something and I'll take it into consideration.  
**1.** How much farther should I take this story before I continue on with the sequel? (You can find information on the sequal on my profile page)  
**2.** Do you like my writing enough to read a different Inuyasha fan fiction?  
**3.** If I started a newsletter a newsletter for my fan fictions would you join?  
**4.** Thanks for filling this out and which one would you prefer: a link to your site or profile page on my profile page, do a link exchange with me, or request something and I'll take it into consideration? Please be specific with the last one.


	14. Going Back Home

**Author's Note:** My mind went blank for all of my stories. I'm so sorry it took longer than normal to update, but I've had a small case of writer's block. XD It's okay though because this chapter is mainly conveying information to other people in the story, so it shouldn't be too hard to recall back on things right? Lol. Anyways... 

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha is not mine, but I really wanted Sesshoumaru for Christmas. Turns out I can't have him... I'm too poor. Lol. Well that's about it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Changes During Time  
Going Back Home**

Sango's eyes parted slightly as the welcoming morning rays pierced through the cool air. She blinked away the sleep in her eyes before pulling herself out of the comfort of the transformed Kirara. At her master's movement, the two tailed cat demon stirred awake. A loud yawn roared over the grass as she stretched out her front paws, extending her butt towards the sky. Once loosened up she pulled herself back into kitten form before jumping into the woman's lap who absentmindedly stroked her soft fur. Beside her, an already awake monk gazed thoughtfully into a dim camp fire. There was a stretch and a yawn to symbolize he hadn't been awake for long, but when her view strolled towards Kagome, she knew the story was completely different.

Kagome's heavy eyes stared towards the grass, occassionally shifting towards an injured Inuyasha beside her before going back once again. She continued this for about four times before her gaze pulled itself unwillingly up to see Sango. A faint smile casted her lips before turning upside down in deep thought. Sango took note of the dark bags that resided under Kagome's blood shot eyes, knowing her friend didn't sleep well the night before, but she had to have answers. "Kagome."

The young miko's eyes snapped up, frightened by the soft voice that broke the silence, but quickly eased once she realized who it was. The lack of sleep had made her paranoid and jittery, causing her to jump at the tiniest sound. "Yes Sango."

Her friend twirled her forefinger and thumb in her lap once Kirara had jumped into Miroku's grasp. "I know this isn't a good time, but I believe Miroku and I have a right to know what's going on."

A barely heard sigh escaped through tired lips as Kagome looked towards Shippou's still sleeping form. At first her mind told her to stay away from the truth, that these people she called her friends just wouldn't understand the relationship she had with Inuyasha or the newly found one with his half-brother Sesshoumaru. But the other half of her mind told her it was okay to tell these people because if they were friends they wouldn't judge her for her decision. Finally her gut tugged her towards the second half and she began speaking. "There isn't much to tell really."

The taijiya was prepared for such a response and quickly countered with what she saw from the night before. "Then why did Sesshoumaru stop when you asked him to."

"Luck, perhaps." Her shoulders bounced up in a half-hearted shrug.

"I find that hard to believe."

Kagome let out another tired sigh. Her eyes continued to grow heavier with each passing second and now her mind screamed out to her to sleep even though it was the single thing that deprived her of it last night when constant thoughts rushed through her head. "Inuyasha. He caught me kissing Sesshoumaru."

A light gasp escaped from her best friend as the woman brought up her hand to covered her agape mouth. Miroku had also pulled his head out of the clouds when he heard the statement Kagome spoke, his interest growing in the women's conversation. "How could you do that Kagome?" Sango nodded in agreement with Miroku's question.

"I don't know." Though it sounded sad and pathetic, she truly didn't know why she kissed the dreaded lord of the western lands. Nor did she know why she enjoyed it.

Miroku continued on. "Inuyasha cares deeply for you. Even though he doesn't show it often, it's obvious he does."

"Maybe to you Miroku, but not to me." The feeling of tears began to sting her eyes. She quickly blinked them away and brought her hands up to her face. "Before I ran into Sesshoumaru, I saw Inuyasha and Kikyou together. They looked so... so..." Her words began to falter, but she continued anyways. "...in love!"

The group of three went silent. A low grunt interrupted the tension that fell over them as Inuyasha stirred in his sleep. Blood soaked cloth was bandaged tightly around his shoulder and mid section, doing their best to keep the red liquid from escaping. Kagome knew he would heal soon enough, but the fact that she had caused all this to happen kept tearing at her mind. "Listen." She finally broke the silence. "I'm going to take a trip home. I'll be back tomorrow morning okay?"

Sango rose her hand to protest but was quickly stopped by Miroku with a simple nod of his head. He then continued. "Fine. But please be back by tomorrow morning. Inuyasha will be up and wondering where you are."

The young miko bit her lip, looking at the bloody hanyou beside her. "I know. I promiss." Once she pulled herself to her knees, her hands found themselves over by Inuyasha. She gently snatched up his red haori and white under kimono which had been removed the night before. "I'll bring these back clean and as good as new." She let a faint smile pass over her lips.

Sango nodded. "All right. Kirara." The cute fuzzball knew her cue and quickly transformed, growing at least four times her size. Fire spit from her claws as she pounded in Kagome's direction. Once Kagome had climbed and secured herself on Kirara's back, the large cat demon took towards the sky, streaking it slightly with the illusion of fire.

No more than a half an hour passed by Kirara and her passanger miko arrived at the famous Bone Eater's Well. Kagome slid off her two tailed friend, bring her belongings with her. A faint smile glanced over her face. "Thanks so much Kirara." Her full arms some how wrapped themselves around Kirara's neck before kissing the soft fur on her cheek. "I'll be back tomorrow morning. Make sure the others remember that." A small mew from the cat demon told Kagome she knew what she ment. She then turned slightly and with a single leap over the lip of the well, she bounded down towards the earth.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Author's Note:** Ah! I know it's so short but I'm having major writers block! Please don't beat me! runs away XD Lol. Be sure to post any ideas in your review even though very little of you read author's notes. Lol.

**What's To Come:** Kagome has bandaged Inuyasha up the best she could. After answer all of the questions she could stand from her comrads she decides to head home in order to change, fix Inuyasha's haori, and gather supplies. But what happens when she is interrigated by Carson?

**Vocabulary:**  
Hanyou - A demon that has half human blood and half demon blood, like Inuyasha.  
Miko - A human, normally female, who has unusual spiritual powers such as Kikyou or Kagome.  
Monk - A holy figure such as Miroku.  
Taijiya - A demon slayer.  
Youkai - A full blooded demon.

**Reviewer Responses:  
**Shesshou's Bynx/S.Wooz - Thanks for all the pointers! Lol. You're so much help. Oh! And a link has been added on my profile. Check it out to see and also find out more about my newsletter which I hope is good enough to start. Lol.  
animefreak404112 - Yeah. Lol. It's not really an affair because Kagome was never officially with Inuyasha. Lol. They just kissed a couple of times. And I'm glad you like this fic. Lol. XD I've put a lot of hard work into perfecting my writing skills. Wish I had Microsoft Word though. Lol. Well enjoy! And remember, I take all new ideas for my fics into consideration and normally use them.  
kari konoko - Lol. The pole thing is cool. XD And I updated as soon as I can. Sorry it's short though.  
Inu Youkai Gurl - I'm trying to take it out as long as I can. Lol. Since I love writing it and all. XD Writing about Sesshoumaru is the best anyways. Lol. But I put a link to your profile, but I couldn't find the link to your site. Just lemme know.  
sabbs - Yes! Sesshoumaru rocks my socks! Lol.  
kagomente - Lol. I'm glad you love my story. XD And I'm positive it will go past 15 chapters, especially since this one is a lazy chapter and is short. Also, I've started a new fic if you wanted to check it out and let me know what you think, it's called 'Stealthy Hearts'. And if you want to join my newsletter just check out my profile page and you can read about it there. Plus your link is up! n.n  
Exunamoon - You're new. n.n That's awesome! Lol. Sorry you didn't understand the questions. Lol. There is always a question down at the bottom now to see what my reviewers like. And here is more. I'm trying! Lol. XD  
INUGIRL - I updated as soon as I could get my pathetic little mind working. Let me know what you think. Sorry it was short. I'll try to update sooner next time.  
Sheenio Sapphire Hemora - You're new too. Lol. Yay! Sorry but I had to stop writing. Lol. XD Butt lock hurts when you sit too long. Lol.

_REMEMBER THE POLL!_ Lol...

**Current Polls:** Answer the question below and get a link to your site and/or profile page on my profile page! n.n  
**1.** Should there be a little bit of fluff between Kagome and Sesshoumaru before the end of the story?


	15. A Crazy Family

**Author's Note:** My mind went blank for all of my stories. I'm so sorry it took longer than normal to update, but I've had a small case of writer's block. XD It's okay though because this chapter is mainly conveying information to other people in the story, so it shouldn't be too hard to recall back on things right? Lol. Anyways... 

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha is not mine, but I really wanted Sesshoumaru for Christmas. Turns out I can't have him... I'm too poor. Lol. Well that's about it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Changes During Time  
A Crazy Family**

The soft blue mist surrounded the young miko's being. Her raven tresses bellowed behind her as she traveled so easily through time. A small sickness feeling engulfed her stomach, but just before her stomach could turn completely, her petit feet hit solid earth beneath the roof of the old and decaying well house. With a couple of heaves and a few hos, she made her way out of the well and flung her legs over the lip of the time portal. "Nice to be home..."

The girl the bounded out of the well house with a bloody haori and white under kimono wrapped securely in her hands. As soon as she reached the entrance to her home, she slid the door open and was immidately drawn inside by it's warm and welcoming atmosphere provided by none other than her dearest mother. "Mama!" Her girlish voice echoed through out the small house. She slid her shoes off, replacing them with a pair of slippers, then continued her journey into her much missed home.

"Kagome? Is that you?" Mrs. Higarashi's voice bellowed from the living room, slightly muffled by the sound of Souta's video game. But before the teenage time traveler could answer her mother's call, the owner of the voice appeared before her with arms spread wide, awaiting her usual welcome home hug.

Kagome happily fell into her mother's arms, basking in the warmth of the motherly love which radiated from the caring woman's heart. "Mama!" Her enthusiastic voice was muffled slightly by her mother's clothing. "I've missed you." She pulled back slightly, gazing at the elder woman's eyes.

The chocolate brown eyes which proved the two to be related, lit up with great surprise and satisfaction. "Kagome, dear. Your face."

"What about it?" Her nose wrinkled up in confussion.

"It's beautiful!" She took note to how her piercings had disappeared over the last few days. "I'm glad you've finally come to your senses. There is no need to tarnish your beauty."

'Tarnish.' That word echoed through her mind. The exact word Sesshoumaru had used when they met and the exact reason why she had rid herself of her piercings. A small smile glazed her lips, just enough to mask the fact she was currently deep in thought. "Yeah, mama. I came to my senses." At that moment, her mind snapped too and she quickly stepped back, pressing the bloody pieces of cloth between the two of them. "Listen. Inuyasha was seriously hurt. He's doing fine now though. But his clothes are completely filthy. I was going to wash them. Is this okay?"

"Of course dear." Her mother sent her another heart warming smile. "I just took the last load out of the washer. Go ahead."

The miko bowed slightly out of respect then scurried off to the laundry room, thanking her mother as she left. Once she entered the laundry room her eyes scurried about the small space, looking for any sort of soap detergent that would rid Inuyasha's under kimono of the horrible blood stains she remembered all too well. Finally she found a small pen shapped bottle and began dabbing the clear liquid onto the darker stains. Once finished she tossed the white garment into the washer, added a small cup of detergent, set it on hot, and turned it on. Immidately the machine before her roared with life and began filling with the warm liquid.

Now satisfied with the first article of clothing being placed into the washer, she turned and made her way out of the laundry room. Her small feet made a light pitter patter as she bounded up the wooden steps, then down the hallway, and into her room. The much missed room welcomed her as she fell backwards onto the fresh comforter and sheets.

"Kagome!" Mrs. Higarashi's voice carried up the stairs. "Dinner will be ready shortly. You may want to take a bath first."

A small giggled let itself out of the young girl at her mother's request. With all the comotion about Inuyasha, she had forgotten about what a mess she was. "Yes mama!"

Once she answered her mother she pulled herself up. Her feet brought her to her closet where her arms began to scavage through an asortment of clothing. This is when she found her old school uniform. With a small shake of the head she tossed it behind her with everything else. Eventually she came upon a pair of jeans and a small powder blue sweater that managed to survive her state of rebellion. "Perfect." She drug herself up yet again and made her way, slowly this time, down the hallway until she reached the Higarashi family's bathroom.

Her petit hands turned the large knobs to their bath tub completely towards the left. It was apparent that no other family member had taken a bath previously today or the tub would have already been full. As she awaited for the steamy liquid to fill the rather large ceramic bowl, she quickly wrapped her hair up into two piggy tail buns on each side of her head and began ridding herself of her clothing. By the time she had finished, the fast flowing water was edging it's way to the brim of the tub. She quickly reached over and turned the knobs in the opposit direction.

Before she entered the tub, she side stepped, where she found herself in a small drainage section with a rather long extending hose. She turned the hose on and began to professionally rinse her body of all the grim and dirt. Once she throughly rinsed herself, she turned the hose off and made her way into the tub of steamy hot water. One leg at a time she slid down into the welcoming liquid, letting out a small moan of pleasure as it engulfed her being.

The water seemed to carry her problems away with its rising steam. Though she knew when she went back, the others would be waiting for her, and probablly still full of questions. 'If only they understood...' Her mind began to carry itself off, doing it's best to find answers for herself as well. 'Inuyasha, he never showed any signs of true feelings for me. But why is Sesshoumaru suddenly interested in me?' She paused a moment, racking her brain to find the answer to this question, but finally gave up and sunk deeper into the water.

About forty five minutes had passed when Kagome came to. Her exaughested being dozed off earlier when she tried to relax. Shaking away the sleep from her eyes, she stood from the tub. The touch of cold air sending small lines of goose bumps up and down her spine. She shivered slightly and then stepped out of the tub and back onto the drainage mat. Her hand found a small sponge and she lavered it up with sweet lilac body wash, quickly scrubbing her body completely away of any remaining grime. Once again she turned the small hose on and rid her body of the foam from the soap. She quickly unwrapped her pig tail buns and flipped her head upside down, then began soaking her hair with water. Eventually she washed her hair and wrapped it back up, then slid back into the steaming water.

Another hour passed by as Kagome's mother called up the stairs. "Kagome dear! Super is almost ready!"

The young woman scurried out of the tub and began drying herself off. Once all the moisture had been soaked off of her body, she slid on her undergarmets, followed by the previous outfit she had picked out. "Coming!" After she dropped her dirty towels into the laundry basket she bounded out of the bathroom, leaving her water in the ceramic tub, and leaped down the steps, preparing herself for a good homemade meal. "Mmm.. It smells so good."

"Why thank you." Her mother set the last plate down full of chicken in front of Souta. On the small family table sat a large bowl of rice, a huge mountain of chicken terryoki, and a tea pot full of soothing green tea. "Sit down and eat."

Kagome happily made her way to the table, helping herself just as the others did to the food in front of her as her mother poured each of them a small cup of tea. The family ate in silence from then on until a certain younger brother's curiosity got the best of him. "So sis, why are you back so early?"

"Souta!" Their mother piped up in a tone telling him that his question was rude.

"What?" He defended himself with his usual guilt free tone. "I was just wondering."

The young miko chuckled lightly as she swallowed a large piece of chicken. "It's okay. I needed to come home and get some things, rest up, and stuff like that. That's all." She let a small smile glance across her face as she began nibbling at another piece of chicken. Once again the family went back to eating in silence, their grandfather being oddly silent.

After the four of them had finished their meal, Kagome willingly stood and collected the plates, placing each into the sink full of foaming water. During this chore, the buzzer to the washer went off with a loud and quite annoying ring. She quickly finished her task at hand the hurried over towards the laundry room, taking out the under kimono and placing it in the drier, avoiding the clean free, knowing all the scents of the detergent would be enough for Inuyasha's nose to handle. She then placed the red haori into the washer, setting it once again. This time both machines roared in unison as they began a pattern of thumps and splashes.

Kagome entered back into the living room, where she found Souta with his video games, grandpa with a small book and an odd looking artifact, and her mother with a small yellow novel. She happily sat down on the couch and watched as Souta's fictional character distroyed make believe demons in a world he considered quite real. During this time off odd silence except for the screaming from the television, Kagome remembered a past boyfriend, Carson. "Mama. Where is Carson?"

Her mother's chocolate eyes peered over the yellow covered book and looked at her daughter. "Home I presume. Why?"

"Well." She twirled her fingers in her lap as she began thinking about the last day she saw him. "He saw me and Inuyasha go through the well."

"Ah, yes." Her grandfather piped into their conversation. "He did mention that."

"Oh boy!" Kagome's palm met her forehead as she slapped it feeling foolish.

Her grandfather continued. "Not to worry. We convenced him you had left to visit your cousin in Okinawa. He didn't believe us at first, but we told him he must of fainted at the thought of loosing you and blacked out. Then hit his head on the ground and had a strange dream."

"He didn't buy that did he?"

Her mother began chuckling behind the novel. "Sure didn't. Ended up frightened to death by your grandfather's strange and often changing story. So he told us we were a crazy family and left."

Kagome joined in with her mother's light chuckle. "Yeah, pretty much." A small grin spread across her face as her eyes were drawn back to the graphics from Souta's video game.

This is when Souta pulled a small bit of attention away from his game and added his own opinion. "That's okay. I didn't like him that much anyways. Inuyasha is much cooler!" He then pictured his silver haired hanyou hero standing tall and proud.

"Inuyasha... oh, yeah." The smile and laughing faded. "Well I'm going to go change this load over and head to bed."

Her mother confirmed with a nod. "Alright. Good night."

Kagome returned the nod. "Good night everyone." The retreated back into the laundry room. She opened the drier and pulled the under kimono free. It wasn't as good as new, but it was better than it was before. Only a few pale yellow spots shown threw. Her index finger slid through a rather small rip on it's sleeve. She sighed slightly and began folding the piece of cloth, placing it on top of the drier. "I'll fix those tears tomorrow." She then pulled his red haori from the washer and tossed it into the drier. This time the drier roared to life on it's own and began shaking ferociously as the dring process began.

A small yawn escaped between parted lips. The young miko trudged tiredly up the wooden steps, down the hallway, and into her room. She slanked into bed and pulled the covers over top of her, doing her best to let much needed sleep over whelm her.

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**Author's Note:** Okay, the block began to break down then it started coming back again. Lol. XD But I did finish this chapter and we even got thorugh a whole day in the story! Lol. And if you're confused about the bath thing then I'll explain. I've both read and been told that the Japanese fill the tub up with scolding hot water, rinse themselves before getting into the tub, then soak for a while. After that they get out and wash off then get back in a soak a little longer. Once they're done they get out and leave the old water in there for other family members to use. If I'm wrong let me know, but I'm pretty sure about this. Lol.

**What's To Come:** The young miko was welcomed home with opened arms. She finished what she said she needed to do, brushed up on her hygene, and washed Inuyasha's bloody clothing, but it seems there was no Carson to deal with. What happens when she returns to the feudal era with fresh clothes for Inuyasha and treats for her friends? Maybe there might actually be a relaxing day.

**Vocabulary:**  
Hanyou - A demon that has half human blood and half demon blood, like Inuyasha.  
Haori - The red over coat kimono thing Inuyasha wears.  
Miko - A human, normally female, who has unusual spiritual powers such as Kikyou or Kagome.

**Reviewer Responses:**  
Sesshou's Bynx/S.Wooz - No problem. Lol. I know the last chapter was a bit short. XD If you haven't realized, most of them are. Lol. And I really need to get around to reading one of your stories. I'll get there, I promiss! Lol.  
Inu Youkai Gurl - Lol. Yeah, I'll look around for the site when I get the time. XD And I know it's been a while since this chapter and it probablly wasn't even worth the wait. Lol. But at least it's a chapter. Lol.  
kari konoko - Lol. I think it's pretty clear you want a bit of Kagome and Sesshoumaru fluff. XD  
sveta89 - Lol. I'm workin on the fluffy part. And thanks for the compliment. Good is good. n.n  
INUGIRL - XD I think I got your review down pat. Lol. "Update soon! Can't wait for the next chapter!" Thanks for mixing it up a bit and adding "It's great so far!" this time. Lol.  
kagomente - Lol. Fluffy stuff it is then. And you're welcome about the review. I try and normally do answer most of them. n.n  
inlovewithsesshoumaru - Yes is good and thanks you think my chapter was wonderful. Hope you're as pleased with this one as the last.  
animefreak404112 - Thanks for the compliments. Lol. They keep me going. XD And yeah, too much fluff is a lemon and I'm not into writing pure details of making love. Lol.  
sabbs - Lol. Well if it isn't obvious it's a Sesshoumaru/Kagome fic since they kissed. Lol. I haven't figured out what to do with Inuyasha yet though.  
inuyasha horselover - Newcomer! Yay! Lol. Thanks for the compliment. Awesome is good!  
Kouga's #1 fan - Hell yeah and always great! Lol. Very enthusiastic. XD By the way: Kouga is my second choice, next to Sesshoumaru that is. Lol. They're both sexy!  
hermonine - Updated soon! Lol. Or as soon as I could. Hope you enjoyed!

REMEMBER THE POLL! Lol...

**Current Polls:** Answer the question below and get a link to your site and/or profile page on my profile page! n.n  
**1.** Should Shippou stay with Miroku, Sango, and Inuyasha or go with Kagome if she decides to be with Sesshoumaru?


	16. Stumbling Back For Her

**Author's Note:** My mind went blank for all of my stories. I'm so sorry it took longer than normal to update, but I've had a small case of writer's block. XD It's okay though because this chapter is mainly conveying information to other people in the story, so it shouldn't be too hard to recall back on things right? Lol. Anyways... 

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha is not mine, but I really wanted Sesshoumaru for Christmas. Turns out I can't have him... I'm too poor. Lol. Well that's about it.

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**Changes During Time  
Stumbling Back For Her**

A loud and shrieking beeping noise pierced the silence of the once quiet household as Kagome's forgotten about alarm clock let the young school girl know it was still there. Her body shifted heavily in her state between sleep and reality as she stared towards the clock, only to find a mess of raven tresses randomly tossed in front of her eyes. She brought her hand up and reluctantly moved her hair from her vision as she gazed at the box like red digits that read 8:00am on the still beeping clock. As fast as she could, she shot her hand down, knocking the piece of technology with her palm and causing it to shut off.

Light muffled moans escaped into the air, passed through the hallway, and entered into the room of a now aggitated Souta. The younger brother drug himself out of bed the moment his elder sister's alarm clock went off causing his ears to ring. He slumped out of his room and down the hallway until he reached his final destination. As his eyes peeped around the door of Kagome's room they found nothing but a heap of covers piled onto a now sleeping sister. "Sis!" His still high pitched voice entered her room. "Wake up!"

The lump of covers shuffled slightly before a hand shot into the air and with great concentration, shook slightly to shoo the younger sybling away. Souta's brown eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of this. Though it was extremely early for the two of them to be waking up, the smell of baccon and eggs that carried to his nose let him know their mother already had breakfast ready for them so Kagome could get on her way. So he tried yet again. "Sis! Get up!" He brought a curled hand up to wipe the sleep from his eyes. "Mom's got breakfast ready and you need to get back to Inuyasha."

Another string of light muffles came from the heep on the bed, but this time they seemed to slur into unknown words. "One... promiss... Inu... time..."

He listened carefully to his sister's nonsense, trying to put the pieces together, but to no avail. His patience began to shorten and soon he found himself at the end of his sister's bed. His hands grabbed tightly ahold of the end of the covers and with one big jerk the covers which kept his sister from the outside world were off the bed and lieing in a mess on the floor. "What?"

Despite the fact of her eyes already being closed, she squinted them tighter, causing small wrinkles to form around the bridge of her nose as she did her best to keep the red tint of light from entering into her vision. She began speaking again, but this time a bit more clearer. "One more minute Souta!" She absentmindedly reached down with one hand and patted the bed in search of her still missing covers. "Inuyasha is still sleeping! I have time!"

The young boy huffed slightly but eventually gave up, turning without another word and leaving the girl's room with the covers still at the bottom of the bed. Kagome sat up, her eyes now fully adjusted to the morning light shining through her opened window. She lifted her clenched fists towards the heavens, stretching her back as she pulled her muscles to loosen them from the night's sleep. This action was accompanied with a long yawn as she finally woke up completely.

Once she had dressed she patted down the hallway seeking the bathroom the brush the bad taste of sleep from her mouth. She entered the bathroom, did her business, and left within ten minutes. As soon as she was ready she bounded down the wooden steps with a small smile on her lips until the thought of Inuyasha's frail state entered her mind. _'I can't be thinking of this. I should... I should follow my heart._' She kept telling herself during her trip into the kitchen where the small family of three were seated around the floor bounded table awaiting the school girl's entrance. She took her normal seat and nodded towards the others. "Good morning."

She recieved the same response from her other family members as they began helping themselves to the food their gracious mother and daughter-in-law prepared for them that morning. "Kagome dear." Her mother's voice piped up. "When you're finished go ahead and work on Inuyasha's clothes. I'll pick up here."

The miko sent a thank you smile towards her mother while she excused herself from the table and quietly made her way into the laundry room. The drier's constant beating stopped sometime in the middle of the night, signling it was finished drying Inuyasha's red fire rat haori. She readied the small sewing kit between the washer and drier, preparing herself to have to sew both pieces of clothing. But to her surprise, when she drug the red cloth from the drier it had already sewn itself together and rid itself of any blood stain that had set in. "What?" She rattled her summer fallen brain, wondering just how this had happened but soon remembered what the haori was made of. "I see..." Her hand then reached down, taking the still ripped under kimono and pushing a small needle with attached white thread through it. In no time she unprofessionally sewed the holes, making it seem almost as good as new. With a small smile the young girl put her tools away and folded Inuyasha's clothing.

- - - - - - - - -

Meanwhile Sango's worried filled eyes gazed at the still sleeping hanyou. His silver hair was coated in blood and crimson soaked through Kagome's bandages. She knew she should change them but decided against it for she had no clean bandages and exposing his wounds to the air might prone him for infection. "Miroku." Her gentle voice broke the small silence between the two humans.

"Yes Sango?"

"What is Kagome thinking?"

The monk's eyes snapped open, a bit shocked at the taijiya's question. He gazed into the fire, watching the flames lick towards the sky and soon he began wondering the same thing. "I truly don't know."

"But why." She placed her elbow on her knee, allowing her chin to rest in her now opened palm. "Why would she turn against Inuyasha?"

He didn't respond for a while. Why? None of them knew the answer to this question. All the small group could do is assume Kagome knew what she was doing, but assuming was never their style. They liked proven facts. "If you think about it, she didn't turn against Inuyasha."

"No?" Her voice rose yet again. "No! Of course she turned against Inuyasha! Why else would she be so close to Sesshoumaru.

"Now calm down Sango." Miroku did his best to calm the young woman's anger down. "Maybe she didn't ask for it. Maybe she's just... following her heart."

"But I thought her heart was with Inuyasha..." All of her thoughts began flooding her mind, causing her head to spin with everything she took in.

"Maybe it was." The monk continued to do his best to place the situation in a perspective they both could understand. "But once you think about it, maybe Kagome thought Inuyasha's heart was with Kikyou? After all, could you imagine loving someone who didn't love you back?" Only silence followed the young monk's question. He knew he had reached the verdict. Kagome must have witnessed something to bring her true fears to life and finally given up...

"No." The rough hanyou's voice surprised them both as he piped into the conversation. It echoed slightly with a scratchy tone. "I couldn't imagine loving someone who loved someone else... until now."

Sango's brown eyes filled with sarrow yet again. "Inuyasha... I'm sure everything will be okay." Miroku nodded in agreement with the demon slayer's statement.

"Feh! Don't lie to me woman." He pushed himself up using his elbows. A sharp pain shot around his ribs until it reached his spine from the sudden movement. This caused the blood to flow heavier and entirely soak the once white bandage to crimson. Though he was evidently in pain he showed nothing on his face but seriousness and a slight hint of hurt, but not from his outer wounds. "I'm not blind. I can see Kagome loves Sesshoumaru."

Again the monk nodded, but this time in agreement with his hanyou friend's statement. "True. But does Sesshoumaru love Kagome?"

"I don't want to know." Inuyasha went from his sitting position to an immidiate standing position, regretting his actions as soon as he hit his feet. His surroundings began swimming around him, swirling around his head and sending a sense of nausia, causing his stomach to do a small flip. He clutched his stomach, doing his best to stop the progress and sure enough the trees began to stop and take their true places in his vision. "But I do want to know what she thinks."

"You can't be thinking of going back!" Miroku's masculine voice shot sense into the hard headed hanyou's thoughts, though it didn't stay for long.

"I can and I plan on doing so. Don't leave. I'll be back soon." And before the two young humans could stop their half demon friend he turned on his heal and bounded towards Bone Eater's Well, knowing fully well the pain he would have to endure to recover answers to the constant arising questions which echoed in his thoughts.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

A large bright yellow back pack slammed itself down on a now made bed in Kagome's room. It's only half full contents consisted of a large supply of bandages, medical oinment, too many bags of chips to count, some original snacks such as chocolate pocky, Inuyasha's articles of clothing, and a blue hard back book. Her petit hands shuffled through the rather small closet in her room, searching for an article of clothing to wear. She eventually pulled out a couple pairs of under wear and an extra bra, tossing the undergarmets into the yellow back pack along with a pair of jeans and a light yellow shirt. "There. That should be good." She then zipped up the back pack and flung it over her left shoulder.

Before her family had time to react the young miko had said her good byes and was out the door on her way to the well house. She placed the over stuffed back pack on the lip of the well and was just about the climb over when the once dark bottom turned into a misty blue. "What the?" As her chocolate brown eyes watched intently a battered form came into view.

The young man stumbled backwards slightly once his feet hit solid earth. His long silver hair bellowed as he leapt from the well, a small wince was seen as he closed his eyes tightly during his landing, indicating that his wounds were about to reopen. And as Inuyasha landed beside the human girl all she could do was gasp. "Inuyasha... you shouldn't be up."

"Feh! It's nothing." The bare chested hanyou stood before her. His bandages soaked with twice as much blood as when she left him. "Besides. I wasn't sure if you'd be coming back."

She paused a moment, a bit taken aback by his comment. "What do you mean by that? Of course I was coming back." She pointed a matter a factly finger towards her oh so famous yellow back pack still sitting on the edge of the well.

"Yeah, well I needed to get some things straight." He then paused a moment and for the first time in a long while the hard headed hanyou was at a loss for words.

"Inuyasha, I truly am sorry."

With that statement the events which seemed to unravel so fast within the last 24 hours came rushing back to his memories. "Sorry?" He stepped towards the women, placing them toe to toe and nose to nose. "Sorry for what? Kissing my brother or breaking my heart?"

A light gasp floated from her lips. "I didn't know..."

"You didn't know?" His anger began to rise. "How could you not!"

Her chocolate eyes narrowed shortly after his last comment. "What do you mean! You never told me your true feelings! You just constantly ran after Kikyou whenever she was around no matter what!" She too aloud her anger to rise. "If you're going to be like that then I have nothing to be sorry for!"

The hanyou opened his mouth to protest but thought otherwise and decided not to speak at that moment. Instead he continued to listen to the young miko's small fit of anger. "Sesshoumaru showed me affection! He made me feel beautiful! You never did any of that! All you've done is compare me to Kikyou! Well I'm sick of being compared!" She stomped her right foot causing a small dust cloud to fly up around the two's legs.

"Kagome, I..." He paused a moment yet again. How could he tell the woman before him of the feelings he held for her? Or how he felt his heart sink into his stomach when he saw her lip locked with his brother? Or even how he enjoys his random 'sits' which keeps him from trouble and the famous kiss they shared when their lives were on the line? How? "Kagome... I love you."

She stopped. Everything on her body stopped functioning when her famous hanyou friend spoke those three small words. "Then why didn't you show it?" Her voice had dropped a few tones, signling her sympathy for the man before her.

"I was... scared." The tough half demon had finally admitted his fear of committment. "I trusted love once and it was thrown back in my face. I couldn't just run into it and end up as a fool like I did the first time."

"Love is a sacred thing Inuyasha."

"I know this. And the man who gets you will be the luckiest being on this Earth."

His statement flattered her beyond all belief. Was the hard headed Inuyasha really admitting to being in love with Kagome? The same hanyou who vowed to use to jewel to become full demon when she first pulled the sacred arrow from his pierced chest? Could this be true? "Inuyasha... I don't know what to say."

"Then say you'll come back to me. Be with me and I promiss I will never hurt you again. I never want you to feel the kind of pain I endured when I saw you with Sesshoumaru."

Her chocolate brown eyes fell towards the dirt within the well house. "I can't keep a promiss right now Inuyasha, but I can say I will keep an open mind. I did however promiss Sesshoumaru he could come back for me."

"Then so be it. I will find a way to get you back Kagome." He then reached his hand out and wrapped it around her tiny waist. "But for now, lets just get back to the others." And once she nodded and picked up her back pack then two of them let themselves fall threw the well and travel 500 years into the past.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Author's Note:** YES! I finally got the 16th chapter up! I thought it woudl never happen! Okay. Well I've been having serious cases of writers block so if you have anything to inspire me then please cough it up! Lol. Well the Inuyasha series is starting over on weekdays so I've been watching it to freshen up on some odd and end facts. Lol. Besides that nothing else to say.

**What's To Come:** It seems Inuyasha will do anything to get his beloved Kagome back into his arms, but is he strong enough to take on his brother again? And if so will Kagome approve of the two brothers fighting once more? This sure will pose a problem for the group of travelers.

**Vocabulary:**  
Hanyou - A demon that has half human blood and half demon blood, like Inuyasha.  
Haori - The red over coat kimono thing Inuyasha wears.  
Miko - A human, normally female, who has unusual spiritual powers such as Kikyou or Kagome.  
Monk - A holy figure such as Miroku.  
Taijiya - Demon slayer such as Sango or Kohaku.

**Reviewer Responses:**  
kagomente - Lol. Oh the fluff hasn't even begun! Mwahahahaha! I'm gonna try to make the last chapter so all of you will be blown away! Yes! Lol. It is my goal! And Carson got on my nerves too. I think it's best to just stick to the original characters from the series.  
Sesshou's Bynx/S.Wooz - Yes, the title is a bit more catchy! n.n Lol. And I'm on my way to read it as soon as I update! Lol. Well the waiting at the well thing won't work, but I did throw in him coming through the well. After all everyone's favorite hanyou is very hard headed.  
Dark Lightning Wolf - Wow, favorites? I'm extremely flattered! And I haven't figured Inuyasha's reaction out quite yet. Lol. XD I'm workin on it, though I'm sure he'll be either extremely disappointed or peeved or both.  
kari konoko - Okay okay! Lol. Calm down. I promiss there will be Sesshoumaru and Kagome fluff but probablly not until the last chapter. You must wait! I'm so evil! Mwahahaha!  
sabbs - I don't believe I've read any of your stories but I'm always up for something new. Lol. I am, however, a frequent reviewer and you might have seen me on other stories.  
AnimusPatronus - True, but you must remember Sesshoumaru has a family of his own consisting of Jakken and Rin. Lol. Though I'm sure Rin and Shippou would play well together.  
inlovewithsesshoumaru - Thanks. Awesome is great! And Kagome it is then! n.n  
Kouga's #1 fan - True. I have to figure out what will happen to Kagome if she and Sesshoumaru mate. I've seen stories where she's turned full demon and others where she stays human. But I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I could make her demon or leave her human or make her a hanyou or even... oh! I think I got it! Lol. But I'm not gonna give it away. XD What would be the fun in that? Lol. Man I'm evil!  
hermonine - Yes! Go me! Lol.  
INUGIRL - Next chapter is here! Updated as soon as possible. Writer's block sucks! Lol.  
Exunamoon - Yes! Jakken would make a kick ass baby sitter! Lol. I'm not sure which one to feel sorry for, Rin and Shippou or Jakken. Lol.

REMEMBER THE POLL! Lol...

**Current Polls:** Answer the question below and get a link to your site and/or profile page on my profile page! n.n  
1. No poll this time... Sorry. Lol.


	17. Sesshoumaru Comes Forth

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry in advance for how sucky this chapter might seem. I'm in an extremely foul mood over some nonsense boy problems, so sorry once again. 

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha and company do not belong to me though I wish they did... oh how I envy their creator!

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**Changes During Time  
Sesshoumaru Comes Forth**

The morning sun glistened off small droplets of dew on the fresh grass around the Bone Eater's Well in the Sengoku Jidai. To any other being these small wonders would have gone unnoticed, but a certain young kitsune had caught a small glimpse of their beauty and was immidately amazed. His deep eyes gazed at the round droplets which laid so gently in such great clusters on each blade of grass. Oh how he marveled at their beauty, but in the background, a not so beautiful thing was unraveling.

Behind young Shippou stood an outraged Sango. Her eyes seemed to be narrowed to small slits and her light pink and maroon colored sleeves were rolled up to her forearms.

"Now now Sango." The young monk rose his hands up, placing himself in front of the female demon slayer. "I'm sure Kagome has a good explination."

Despite Miroku's attempt at calming the woman down, steam continued the bellow from her ears as her eyes shot daggers over the monk's shoulder. If one were to follow her furious gaze they would find a rather proud demon lord standing behind Miroku. "That's not the point Miroku! The point is I'm asking him!"

As the monk began to speak again he was interrupted by a rather cool, calm, and collected voice. "Why do you ask me? Is it because you are worried? Perhaps curious? Or maybe it is because you are... jealous."

At the youkai lords last statement Sango balled her fists up and brought her arm back. In a sudden moment she began to bound towards Sesshoumaru, her eyes still narrowed with disgust. "Why I oughta... I'll show you!"

But before the youkai slayer could pounce on her target her one way path was blocked by her friend cloacked in purple and black. Miroku had grabbed her immidately around the waist, doing his best to hold the rather outraged Sango back from what would be her certain death. "Come on Sango. I'm sure he didn't mean it."

Sesshoumaru rose a silver eyebrow out of curiosity. "This Sesshoumaru says nothing he does not mean."

At the sound of this Miroku dropped his head in defeat, but continued to hold his friend back knowing fully well she wouldn't live to tell about the day she charged at Sesshoumaru. The young monk was about to protest against the demon lord's words in order to calm his friend, but was interrupted when he witnessed the baby blue light emit from the well. "Look! They're back!"

Once his words had sunk into the three around him, all turned their heads to watch in awe. Young Shippou bounded from his spot, leaving his once interesting droplets of dew behind him in order to see his adopted mother. Once he was atop Miroku's head he was able to see Kagome and Inuyasha emerge from the dried out well. "Kagome!" His high pitched voice echoed through the forest causing her to look up immidately. Though she did not expect to see her friends here she had to admit that she was quite releaved. Before she had time to react, the young kitsune had lept off Miroku's head and into her arms.

The young miko practically fell backwards just before an injured Inuyasha caught her from behind and swung him, her, and her back pack over the lip of the well. "Shippou! I've missed you so much!"

The young fox demon's face lit up at her words, but his deep eyes immidately traveled to her bright yellow back pack. Knowing she wouldn't have left home without snacks he quickly scurried over without another word and began digging into the bag, all that was seen was his light orange tail puffed out from between the zipper.

She chuckled lightly at the sight of her adopted son's behavior, but turned serious soon enough when the current situation was brought to her attention.

"Kagome!" Miroku's voice chirped in. His lecherous smile spread evenly across his face as he greeted his friend with great enthusiasm, knowing now that she was here everything would begin to settle down.

"Kagome." Sango's voice followed Miroku's, though it wasn't as cheerful as her friends, it did show she was happy to see her, but held question in her tone. "Why?"

The school girl's chocolate eyes looked at her friend with wonder and confussion about her question before realizing exactly what she wanted answered. She brought her petit hands up, placing her forefinger on her lip and cupping her chin with the others as she soon went into deep thought.

Feeling the tension between the small group of friends, Inuyasha immidately spoke up. "Not now Sango." He then walked smoothly pass the young demon slayer. "Everything happens for a reason. Now let's go."

"Not so fast." The entire group looked pass Inuyasha to lay eyes upon the mighty demon lord of the western lands. "Kagome had promised to come with me when I came for her, and this is exactly why I am here."

Inuyasha's heavy eyebrows narrowed with disgust. "That's not fair! She just got back!"

"Nothing is fair Inuyasha."

Kagome sighed lightly, she knew the time would come, but deep down she didn't regret making such a promise to Sesshoumaru. "I see. Well I did promise." Her eyes shifted towards her friends. "Listen guys. I know everything might not make a whole lot of sense to you right now, but I promise, as soon as I get back I'll explain everything."

The still fuming Sango looked on at her friend, still in bewilderment at how the woman before her could do such a thing, but nodded soon enough. Her nod was followed by the others, all except that of Inuyasha's.

The young miko kissed the palm of her small fingers and blew the imaginary token of her affection in their direction. "I'll be back before you know it."

Sesshoumaru then began to walk off towards the west, the rather strong winds bellowing his hair back and mingling it with his white boa and kimono. As the two walked off, the three companions who were left behind turned and began walking in the opposit direction, unsure as to what fate would bring their way.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Author's Note:** Ah! I know it's extremely short but do not threat! I am extremely bored and really upset, meaning I'll be writing another chapter tonight so keep your fingers crossed. Plus I'm really sorry if I stepped out of character with anybody. Lol.

**What's To Come:** So it seems Sango is quite upset for Kagome kissing Sesshoumaru. There could be a reason behind this... or not. Who knows? To top it off Sesshoumaru will introduce Kagome to Jaken and Rin. How will his two followers handle the news? Wait! Sense when was there news!

**Vocabulary:**  
Demon Slayer - A person who slays demons.  
Hanyou - A half demon, meaning they have half human blood and half demon blood.  
Kitsune - A young fox demon.  
Miko - A human, normally female, who has unusual spiritual powers.  
Monk - A holy figure.  
Sengoku Jidai - The feudal era of Japan.  
Youkai - A demon.

**Reviewer Responses:**  
Knight2 - Mwahaha! If you haven't realized I am one of those evil writers who reveal nothing about the true plot though I will let you know it is a Kagome x Sesshoumaru fic. Lol. Thanks for your review.  
Sesshou's Bynx/S.Wooz - Ah! My number one reviewer! I took your advice and did the waiting at the well scene, though I didn't get pass there, sorry. Lol. Thanks so much for all your help, and I promise I will read your stories!  
inlovewithsesshoumaru - Yes! I love hearing my chapters are awesome! Lol. And I know Inuyasha was a little late, but isn't he always? Lol.  
Kaida Black - Wazoo? Lmao! I love it! Lol. Thanks for the compliment.  
AnimusPatronus - Your welcome. I try to do my best to clear up confusions and what nots. Enjoy!  
Kouga's #1 fan - Lovin it is good! Lol. And about making Kagome a half demon or what not... Truthfully I'm not entirely sure of how I want to go about this, but I know for sure she will not be a half demon, the reason you gave me being the main reason why. I realized this and was like 'whoa! what was I thinkin!' Lol. However I'm not sure if I'll make her a full demon either because then she would lose her miko powers and not be able to help Inuyasha and the gang find the jewel shards. Hmm... Maybe I'll make this a poll? Lol.  
HerbalEssence - Yes, most likely. Lol. After all, this is a Sesshoumaru x Kagome fic. Plus... I love the Herbal Essence commericals! Lol.  
kari konoko - Mwahaha! I love to keep things confusing, but if they get too confusing let me know. Lol.  
Sesshoumaru-sama mate - Even though you replied for Part II I'm glad you liked it. Or I think you liked it. Lol. 'Whoa' is a good thing in my eyes. Lol.  
hermonine - Yes. I think the dramatic event he saw snapped some sense into him. Hey! The impossible can happen. Lol.  
sesshygirl1212 - I wrote more! Mwahaha! And more to come, I promise!  
sabbs - Thanks for the compliment. I love to hear that people like my writings. It makes me want to write more. Plus, practice might not make perfect but it sure helps, though it never did help my spelling. Lol. Besides, you write great work as well.  
XtopangelX - Thank you kindly. I realized that stupid mistake I had in the first chapter and fixed it immidately. Sorry, that was made back when I was just begining. Lol.  
kagomente - Ah. About Kagome turning demon again? Hmmm... I had a debate about this with myself in my head. Yes... those things happen. Lol. Though I'm pretty sure about what I want to do I still wanted to get all of your guys' opinions on it so I made a poll about it.  
ghost101 - I updated! So sorry! Lol.  
INUGIRL - Yes! Next chapter is up! Whoo hoo!

_REMEMBER THE POLL! Lol..._

**Current Polls:** Answer the question below and get a link to your site and/or profile page on my profile page! n.n  
**1.** Tell me whyKagome should or shouldn'tturn into a full demon if she mates with Sesshoumaru.


	18. A New Friend

**Author's Note:** I'm kind of going at the chapter in the dark so I'm sorry in advance for any confusion there may be. 

**Disclaimer:** Ugh. I clearly don't own Inuyasha and company, though I wish I did. Oh well...

**Important:** It has come to my attention that the event in this chapter might have occured in someone else's fan fiction. I'm not exactly sure if this is true, but it could be possible. However, I have role played this event with my friend JayCee but with her original character instead of Kagome. I don't want it to seem like I'm copying someone else's writings because I take pride in my work so if you know something about this please e-mail me at DemonicAngel13ma. or review about it. Thank you and enjoy!

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**Changes During Time  
A New Friend**

A single black pony tail, held in place by a small orange band, bounced freely atop a cheerful child's head. The orange and cream checkered kimono was held together with a deep green obi and flowed gently with the cool breeze as she skipped carelessly along side a rather large two-headed lizard. Her toothy grin glistened with happiness and her eyes sparkled with innocence. The young child was truly oblivious to the events that occured in her bloody era.

A scratchy and rather annoying voice pierced the serenity of the once quiet forest. "Rin! Slow down!" The owner of the voice waddled along behind the child, his webbed toes flapping on the ground as he tried to pick up speed. Despite his best effort, the small toad demon could not catch up with her quick pace.

"Come on Master Jaken!" Her adolesent voice responded. "Lord Sesshoumaru will be waiting for us." She then continued to froleck through the small sections of high grass, leaning down every now and then in her small skipping spurts to pick up a flower and place it in the growing bouqet she held tightly in her arms.

As the two smaller forms approached a large tree, a familar form game into view. Rin's grin widened, practically cutting her face in two, when she spotted her well loved lord where he said he would be. Sesshoumaru's majestic form stood before them, his arms lying limp to his sides. "Lord Sesshoumaru!" As the young girl squealed out his name she soon forgot about her bouqet of flowers, dropping them on the ground in her desperate dash to the lord's leg, which she immidately bound herself to in a gigantic bear hug.

"Rin!" The scaled demon behind her called out again. "Wait for me!" Once his stubby legs carried him to his final destination they practically gave out as he doubled over, placing his hands on his now wobbly knees and though his breaths were heavy he greeted his lord respectively. "It is nice to see you in good health mi' lord."

Sesshoumaru's amber orbs looked down his nose at the two beings who followed him everywhere he went, but did not bother to try and pry the girl from his leg, knowing she would let go herself soon enough. And by the time he was ready to speak the young girl in the checkered kimono had released his leg and was now interigating the woman beside him. "Rin, Jaken, this is Kagome."

Rin's innocent eyes peered at the young miko. "Rin thinks Kagome is beautiful Lord Sesshoumaru." Her child like hands proceeded to play with the material her jeans were made out of, rubbing a pinched piece of her pant leg between her fingers as she awed at the odd feeling.

Kagome's cheeks flushed a light crimson at the young child's words. "Why thank you Rin. You're very pretty as well." Once the child grinned with happiness at her compliment, Kagome knew she had gotten off on the right foot with her and allowed her to continue and interrogate her odd clothing.

"Humph!" The staff of two heads plowed into the ground causing a small cloud of dust to rise at Jaken's feet. "A human mi' lord? But why?"

"Jaken, do you question me?"

Once the toad demon realized what he had said he quickly began denying his lord's assumtions. "No mi' lord, I'm truly very sorry. I was just curious as to why. It was not my place to ask. I'm sorry mi' lord." Jaken continued to beg for forgiveness while he bowed down, practically graveling on hands and knees at Sesshoumaru's feet. "Forgive me, please?"

The mighty lord of the western lands spoke not a word to his devoted follower and merely nudged him away with the tip of his toe. He decided to direct his attention towards the immidate bond Kagome and Rin shared. "Rin, do not bother Kagome."

The young woman smiled half heartedly. "It's not a problem. Really, I don't mind."

But despite her new friend's statement she immidately listened to her father figure and backed away from Kagome. This is when she realized she had a present to give to her lord. "Lord Sesshoumaru! I picked you some flow... ers..." Her excitement died down once she realized her once filled hands were now empty sense she dropped her bouqet in the middle of all the excitement to see her lord.

"Do not worry Rin, you can pick more later on."

His calm voice soothed her of her worries though she was still quite disappointed about the fact of not having her gift to give to him. "Yes mi' lord."

Jaken had finally risen from his graveling and made his way over to the young miko. Despite his efforts to hold himself back he couldn't stand it any longer and he too began massaging the material of her pants between his finger tips. He continued this action for quite a while until Kagome's small giggles interrupted him. He turned his head up, his billed face now staring at her. "What is it? What's so funny?"

"Nothing." Another small giggle fell from her lips. "It's just... it tickles." She then shooed his hand away from her leg. He immidately let go of the fabric and stepped back.

Sesshoumaru turned his attention towards the two, wondering if it was actually possible that this woman could even win Jaken over as a friend. If she could do such a thing then perhaps it truly was his heart that beckoned out to him when she was around. Though his mind begged his heart for an explination he would have to wait for now, for only time could tell in situations such as this. "Jaken..."

The toad youkai immidately turned his attention towards the silver haired lord. "Yes mi' lord."

"Go to the nearest villiage and fetch the women fresh supplies."

The green upon his scaley cheeks tinted pink at such a thought, but he wouldn't dare defy his lord's orders. He bowed graciously. "Ay mi' lord."

Kagome's hand immidately shot to the back of her head at the sound of this. Would Sesshoumaru really wish for her to stay with him for such a long period of time? That was besides the point, would Jaken actually know what Kagome and Rin would really need? She highly doubted it and stood up shortly after Jaken agreed with his lord. "Excuse me, Sesshoumaru? If you don't mind, I'd wish to accompany him."

The demon lord of the western lands took this into deep consideration. After pondering the thought for a few moments he finally agreed with a small nod. "If you wish to travel the excess distance. Rin and I will be here when you return."

The two nodded in unison before slowly making their way towards the south knowing a small village sat in a low valley not too far ahead. Even though Jaken walked a few steps ahead of the young miko he was truly glad she had decided to come. Villagers weren't exactly the nicest at times and he tried to keep peace with humans ever sense Rin had joined their group. Plus she could help him with what they needed to bring back.

They walked in silence for a long period of time until the first sign of a hut came into view. Smoke bellowed from it's roof, signling life inside its thin walls, meaning the village itself must be occupied as well. Once they reached the inner part of the huts their assumtions were correct. Huts lined the village. A small stream flowed freely down the western side, keeping water and fish in stock for it's occupants. Small carts lined themselves down the center, each selling a different genre of products. "Wow..." Kagome watched on in amazement as the villagers worked together to bring their small civilization up to speed. Never before had she seen such a small village so busy.

Jaken's eyes widened at the thought of so many humans in one area, perhaps it truly was a good thing Kagome decided to tag along duringthe odd request his lord had made. "Alright woman." Though he was happy she was with him he still didn't have to show her respect. "Get what you need then we'll leave." His webbed fingers reached into the sleeve of his brown outfit, pulling out a small bag of golden coins which he tossed at the woman. "This should cover everything."

Despite the fact of treating her with no respect during the short time she had formally met him she snatched the bag in mid air and nodded in agreement. "Okay. Don't leave from this spot." Her last statement was split between a plea and a command. The toad demon nodded in return and watched as she walked off towards the needed stores.

Her black tresses flew back from the wind caused by the fast pace she held to get to cart to cart. The jeans, which fascinated Jaken and Rin to no extent, formed her slim legs perfectly causing a great amount of men's heads to turn. She shook her head in disbelief at the men until a small group of women began to whisper in a corner off to her right.

A young girl whispered to her middle aged mother. "Mama, I want to look like that!" Her small finger swung itself into the air to point at a still walking Kagome.

"You speak nonsense child." The mother snatched the young girl's hand from the air, pushing it to her side. It was truly odd to see a young woman showing her figure in such a way and considered a travesty by that specific mother.

Young boys, no older than Kagome herself, stopped in the middle of their task at hand to watch as her slim figure slid pass them, their eyes glued to her form the entire time.

Kagome half shuddered at the thought of what they were picturing, but on the other hand was quite flattered. People in her era were use to such clothing and much skinnier and more developed women. She sure didn't recieve this kind of attention at home. But she knew what she was here for and had promised Jaken she would hurry after all so she picked up the speed and stopped at the first cart on her left.

A young woman who seemed to be in her mid twenties approached her. "Can I help you ma'am."

The miko smiled at her generosity and nodded immidately. "Yes, actually I'm looking for some ribbon." The woman pulled a small plank of wood from under the counter, placing it in front of Kagome. Wrapped around the plank of wood was ribbon in a variety of colors. She soon pointed to a lovely shade of orange.

The woman pulled the ribbon from the plank until Kagome held her hand up, signling for her to stop. She then cut it free and wrapped it around her hand, handing it to the young miko once it was secure. "Anything else?"

Kagome took the small ball of orange ribbon, placing it in her pocket. "Um. And a few large pieces of cloth please."

Once again the woman reached under the counter, this time emerging with a small hand full of folded white cloth. "Twenty-nine..."

She slowly opened her bag before the woman could finish her sentence, counting out the golden pieces of money and handing it to the woman in the cart. "Thank you very much." Once she recieved her cloth it too was stuffed into her pocket as she made her way back to the awaiting toad demon.

Not far ahead she spotted a small group of men formed in a circle. Their loud and husky voices laughed and carried on as they tossed a small form from one side of their circle to another. "That'll teach you to come to our village!" A rather tall and thick man bellowed as he gave the small form a big push.

"Yeah! Now you'll never come back!" Another man, this one slimmer than the one before him, echoed. He pulled his thin leg back quickly before swinging it forwards and making contact with the poor being in the middle of the circle.

At the same time a man on his right reached forwards, snatching something from within the circle. "Looks like you won't be needing this." He then tossed the object over his shoulder. It skidded to a stop before Kagome's petit feet. She knelt down slowly, looking at the familiar object and immidately knew who their victom was by the site of the two-headed staff.

She picked up her pace, stopping as she reached a fourth man, kicking him hard in the back of the knee. By taking him by surprise the man's unsuspecting knee buckled under pressure and he soon fell towards the earth, catching his fall with his hands. "What the!"

At his cry of anger his friend's turned around. There they saw a guilty Kagome with quite an angry look on her face. Her brow furrowed in disgust as she began rolling the sleeves of her pale yellow sweat shirt up.

"What do you think you're doing young lady?" The first husky guy approached her. With each step the earth seemed to shake under his mercy.

"I should be asking you that!"

He chuckled, allowing his laughter to emit from his chest and echo in the air. His breath reeked of sake as it etched towards her unsuspecting nose, which curled up in disgust. "You reek of alcohol!"

His smile only widened. "And what's it to ya?"

At this her eyes narrowed immidately. "Not only are you picking on someone who caused you no harm, but you're drunk as well!"

The smaller man pushed his way forward, immidately grabbing Kagome's chin and cuffing it roughly in his hand. "Are you jealous?" He too grinned ferocously, a mentle picture of her nude form entering his extremely perverted mind. "If that's the case then I can help you with that..." His drunken state stumbled forwards as his free hand fumbled down her body.

Her eyes widened in shock. How dare he push himself on her in such a way! '_If Inuyasha were here he would murder this guy for sure. Wait... Inuyasha. But Inuyasha isn't here..._' and this was truly her chance to prove she could handle herself in situations like these. Without thinking she placed both hands on his shoulders, pulling herself closer to his body. Once she had come within range her knee flew up with full force, slamming itself into his private area. The thin man doubled over in deadly pain as he let out a small whimper for help.

His fellow friends turned in his direction at the sound of his cry, all in wonder as to what had happened and to their amazement he laid curled into a small ball at Kagome's feet. The husky man spoke once again. "Get her and tie her up! Then she's all yours!" The other men began flocking at her in a small crowd, each grabbing for her in blind swings.

During this distraction Jaken had freed himself from the men's captivating circle and scurried over to retrieve his trusty two headed staff. Once in his posession the mouth to the Beauty opened and out from the wooden sculpture came a long stream of fire, which happened to crisp the top of a few men's heads. "Get away from her!" His scratchy voice broke the fight.

They all soon backed away from the young miko in fear of loosing their man hood and hair if they didn't cooperate. Once the path was clear Kagome and Jaken made their way from the village, leaving behind a small group of rather frightened and hairless men.

"Jaken, I..." Her chocolate eyes gazed down at the toad demon beside her.

He knew what she was about to say and instead decided he owed it to her. "Thank you."

She smiled at him, nodding in agreement. From then on they walked in silence as he took two steps for everyone one step her slender legs took. Soon enough they had reached their destination and looked up at the site before them.

Awaiting the two's return were Sesshoumaru and Rin, who had seemed to be preoccupied by Rin's small obsession with pretty objects. The youkai lord sat against a tree, his trusty sword by his side and a small pile of sunset colored flowers in his lap. Behind the same tree the young raven haired child skipped happily about, once again swooping down at the site of a pretty plant and freeing it from it's roots in one elegant motion then depositing it in her lord's lap.

Kagome stopped before Sesshoumaru, her toes touching the tip of his. Behind her a rather tired Jaken trudged along, finally stopping and slumping down on a rock near the large tree.

His amber orbs rose from the ground at the site of her odd foot wear only to find her beautiful form standing before him, only dripping with a couple small beads of sweat. "I see you've returned. Did you get what you needed?"

She nodded pulling out the small piece of orange ribbon and pile of white cloth.

"Is that all? No food?"

A small smile crept across her face at the sound of his worries. Never before had she been askedsuch aquestion for her other friends knew she kept a good amount of odd food products in her famous yellow back pack. "Don't worry. I got it covered." She then turned on her heal and made her way to a rock opposit of Jaken, sitting down by her bag.

As Sesshoumaru stood the young miko placed her new objects in her carrier, awaiting for his word to move, but instead he called for his adopted human child. "Rin."

The young girl skipped to her lord's view before stopping out of respect and bowing deeply. "Yes mi' lord?"

"Jaken."

The toad demon's slitted yellow eyes threw themselves from the ground to the elegant man before him. "Yes mi' lord?"

"Kagome will be joining us in our travels permanently."

His statement seemed unreal at first until Rin squealed with joy at the thought of having a woman to travel and talk with. The checkered wearing child then began to skip around the large tree once again. "Rin has a new friend! Rin has a new friend!"

At the sound of this Kagome and Jaken's eyes widened with disbelief and despite the young child's personal celebration they didn't move from their spot of pure shock.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Author's Note:** Yes! This was a pretty long chapter and I left it at that sense it was basically Jaken and Kagome's own little adventure. Poor little Jaken, getting picked on by some mean ass guys in the village. Maybe that's why he's so rude to humans? Lol. Who knows, but Kagome helped. Hope you guys liked it and wasn't too disappointed. I tried to make it longer in order to make up for the shortness of the previous chapter. Lol. XD

**What's To Come:** Sango has seemed to be over reacting due to this whole kiss between Kagome and Sesshoumaru. I mean, come one! Even Inuyasha is handling it better than this! But what is Sango's true reason for her out ragous reaction and can Miroku or Inuyasha calm her worries? To top it off will Kagome be coming back to the group at all?

**Vocabulary:**  
Beauty - The female side of Jaken's two headed staff.  
Miko - A human, normally female, who has unusual spiritual powers.  
Obi - I believe it is the piece of cloth that holds kimonos on. If I'm wrong please let me know and I'll change it.  
Sake - A japanese alcoholic beverage.  
Youkai - A demon.

**Reviewer Responses:** Sorry I didn't give you guys a lot of time to review but I wanted to get a new and longer chapter up as soon as possible, plus the same poll is still up so be sure to answer it.  
kagomente - Interesting is good and cool just makes it better. Lol. Hmm... That's one for full demon. I always enjoy your reviews! Thanks!  
kari konoko - Side effects are interesting and interesting is good. Lol. So that's two for full demon. Thanks for your review.  
Kouga's #1 fan - Yeah, sorry about the shortness, I tried to make up for it in this chapter. Hope you liked it. Wow five reasons why to become a full demon. The fifth is especially good, but Sesshoumaru was never the one to care what others thought about him. But that's three for full demon. Thanks!  
hermonine - What happened to Shippou? Well at the end of the chapter it says "As the two walked off, the three companions who were left behind turned and began walking in the opposit direction, unsure as to what fate would bring their way." The three companions are Miroku, Inuyasha, and Sango. Sorry but I forget that some people don't think like I do and automatically include Kirara and Shippou. Sorry about that! Thanks for the compliment though.  
AnimusPatronus - Sweet is awesome! Lol. I updated as soon as possible. Thanks!

_REMEMBER THE POLL!_ Lol...

**Current Polls:** Answer the question below and get a link to your site and/or profile page on my profile page! n.n  
**1.** Tell me whyKagome should or shouldn'tturn into a full demon if she mates with Sesshoumaru.  
Demon 3; Human 0; (Poll is still open... we need more votes and views on this! Lol.)


	19. Making A Proposition

**Author's Note:** I haven't updated in a while, so I figured I should try since I've already added two new chapters to Stealthy Love and a finished song one shot to Bits and Pieces Story Collection. Sorry but this chapter is mainly a filler. 

**Disclaimer:** Geezzz... can't a girl dream!

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**Changes During Time  
Making A Proposition**

A solid biscuit stick covered in chocolate hung from a young kitsune's mouth. His small feet pattered lightly on a dirt trail while he followed behind the three adults in front of him, every now and then listening in on their conversation. His curiosity would drift in and out, but due to the fact that he didn't understand exactly what was going on, he kept to himself in order to keep Inuyasha from growing angry with him.

The young monk dressed in purple desperately tried to figure his companion's reasons out. "I don't understand Sango." Beside the confused monk stood a still out raged Sango, gripping her boomarang like weapon tighter than normal. Seeing this, Miroku decided it'd be best to back off, but despite her warning Inuyasha didn't let the subject drop.

"Seriously Sango. What is your problem?" His gruff voice asked her in such a blunt manner that she could have easily hit him over the head with her trust weapon, but decided to refrain herself. Instead she sighed with annoyance and aloud her attention to fall else where.

This is when she noticed how lonely it would truly be if her friend didn't return. The thought only saddened her, causing hot tears to sting at the corners of her eyes. Inuyasha's highly sensitive nose caught onto this quickly and immidately noticed Sango's upset condition. For once the young hanyou used his head and gently nudged Miroku with his elbow, tilting his head in Sango's direction.

Miroku took the hint and caught on easily. He nodded in agreement and slowly made his way over towards the young demon slayer. "Sango. What's wrong?"

Taken by surprise, she jerked her head downwards, quickly whiping away any tears that might still be present before pulling her face up while plastering a false smile onto her lips. "Nothing houshi."

He cocked a curious eyebrow as his fast paced foot steps began to slow down. "Come on. You can tell us."

She shook her head. "You wouldn't understand."

"What makes you say that?" As if Miroku's words were a cue, the loving Kirara jumped into her master's arms, mewing softly into her chest. "See. We're here for you."

The taijiya allowed a true smile to form over her face, replacing that of the false advertisement. "It's just Kagome."

Miroku continued to soothe his friend. "We all miss Kagome, but she'll come back. She promised."

"You don't understand!" Her right hand slid open allowing the piece of fabric she held onto slip trough her fingers, causing the heavy Hiraikotsu to plow into the ground behind her. Sango then leaned back against the steady weapon and sighed inwardly. "You're losing a friend, but I feel like I'm losing my own sister."

At the sound of this Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. Apparently his so called friends didn't understand how much it hurt him as well to lose the woman he loved. The narrow slits soon softened as the thought of the previous day entered his head. Once he thought about it, it was truly his fault. But his thoughts were snatched away from him as another rush of salt entered his nose. When he looked up he saw streams of tears falling down Sango's cheeks.

"I want her to come back!"

The young monk placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "There there Sango. She will, she promised." The touch of her friend comforted her so greatly that she absentmindedly fell into his embrace and aloud him to wrap his strong arms around her thin form. "Everything will be okay..." He soothed her gently while stroking her silky hair.

To the hanyou's surprise his perverted friend hadn't tried anything. He was quite pleased to see the monk had outgrown his perverted style and silently decided to leave the two to their own thoughts. Just when he turned around and was about to leave a large smacking sound emitted from behind him and echoed through the forest, causing birds to scatter from their sanctuaries in the trees.

Sango's irritated voice followed said sound. "You stupid pervert! How could you!"

When Inuyasha turned around he found a fuming Sango, who looked even agrier than she did before, standing over a doubled over monk. Apparently her trade mark slap was a bit harder than normal and sent the pervert flying to the side. Once his head rose up from losely hanging in pain, he gazed up at the demon slayer with an extremely content look on his face. "I couldn't help it..." was his only plea of defense.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"What!" A female's voice pierced the silence that over came the small group of youkai and humans. "I can't stay permanently! Are you crazy!"

The young Rin was pulled from her personal celebration of singing and skipping by the out raged Kagome's reaction, however she didn't dare question an adult's actions. She did listen intently to the woman's reasoning.

"Sesshoumaru, please! You don't understand! My friends are waiting for them. I promised I would go back to them."

Jaken nodded in agreement with the young woman who had helped him previously. Even though he was in her debt he still didn't want another human traveling with the original trio. "Yes, mi' lord. Besides. Another human would just be more responsibility."

"Jaken." The lord of the western land's voice silenced the two's pleas. "This is none of your concern. You and Rin retreat to the palace. I will be there in a few days. Kagome, I wish to speak with you in private."

The toad demon nodded his scaley head at his lord's wishes. "Yes mi' lord. Come Rin." His stubby little legs to retreated himself to the nearest path in the direction of the western lands with Rin in toe.

Once the two were gone the girl rose her hand to protest, but decided against it. Perhaps she had already pushed his nerves a bit too far and he planned on killing her out of the young child's view so she decided to to push her luck. "Yes." And that was all she had to say.

"Listen to me carefully."

Her head nodded in agreement.

"I wish for you to travel with me." He paused a moment, awaiting her reply.

"Sesshoumaru. I can't."

"And why is that?"

The young miko's brow furrowed out of frustration. Did the great youkai lord not understand what she was trying to get through his thick skull! Her friends were waiting for her and she wasn't one to abandon them! "My friends. I promised them I'd return. Plus I still have to seek the jewel."

"So you would rather be with them." His leg extended, bring him a step closer to the beautiful woman before him.

"No. That's not what I'm saying."

"Then you would rather be with me?" With another step he etched his way closer to her.

"No. I'm not saying that either."

With another step, the demon lord stood mere inches from the young miko's face. He knelt down slowly, bring himself eye level with her as he swept his clawed hand under her chin, lifting it slightly. "Then what are you saying."

Chocolate eyes met amber orbs and an instant connection was made, but Kagome forced her senses to return and she began reasoning with her hormones. "I want to be with both, but you can't travel with us."

"How about I make a proposition." His face inched towards hers. "You travel with your friends, but I visit you every night."

Her heart began to pound. Was the great demon before her really striking a deal just so he could see her every night? This couldn't be true. Since when did the powerful Lord Sesshoumaru wish to see a human? But her thoughts were shaken when the light brush of his breath tickled her lips. She nodded in agreement as he leaned forward, planning to capture her in a kiss to seal the deal.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Author's Note:** Ah! An extremely short chapter and I'm so sorry, I just wanted to let you all know I was still here and this story hadn't died. The next chapter will be extremely lengthy! I promise! Hope you liked the small teaser skit. Ha! And you actually thought Miroku would behave himself!

**What's To Come:** Now that Sesshoumaru and Kagome have worked out a deal, what will become of Inuyasha when his enemy and love grow closer by each passing day? How will he deal with the stress of things?

**Vocabulary:**  
Hanyou - A half demon.  
Houshi - A monk/holy figure Kitsune - A young fox demon.  
Miko - A human, normally female, who has unusual spiritual powers.  
Youkai - A demon.

**Reviewer Responses:**  
kmkoolj2010 - Fooled ya! Lol.  
Sailor Millenium - Lol Glad you like it so much, and I'm not sure exactly what I want to do.  
Kouga's #1 fan - You have a point. Lol. I'll keep all of that in mind when I make the decision.  
SmifaliciousPurpleSquirrel - I've been leaning towards her staying human as well due to a good bit of reasons, but only time will tell. Thanks for your review!  
Sesshoumaru's Miko - You gave me some really good reasons. Thanks so much for voting on the poll. I'll add your links as soon as I get the chance. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!  
hermonine - Lol. True true, but would she purify herself? Ah... interesting.  
Shesshou's Bynx/S.Wooz - Ack! You have me so worried that someone else wrote this scene! XD Oh! And I've also read a fic or so where Kagome stays human but gets an extended life span. This is actually sounding appealing to me and I'm leaning towards the huma theory. And you have a point... Inuyasha's mom didn't change. Haha! Thanks for your review and all the help!  
Hannah - I'm not sure what kind of disappointment you had, but if it's because their relationship hadn't blossomed yet, do not threat! There will be major 'relationshipness'! Lol.  
AnimusPatronus - Your welcome! I'm glad you liked the chapter! Looking forward to your reviews!

_REMEMBER THE POLL!_ Lol...

**Current Polls:** Answer the question below and get a link to your site and/or profile page on my profile page! n.n  
**1.** How many chapters do you think this story should be taken?


	20. Like A Silly Game

**Author's Note:** I haven't updated in almost a week! To most author's this is normal, but not to me. I've been updating quite often lately and it seems so wrong to deprive my story but leaving it be for almost a week. So I'll start on it right away. 

**Disclaimer:** You know... the people who pour their hearts out into fan fictions about this awesome anime are important too and also deserve some credit. Gosh! Lol.

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**Changes During Time  
Like A Silly Game**

A pair of soft lips etched towards a young miko awaiting. The seconds it would have taken for a kiss to happen turned to hours as she instantly thought back at how much pain her first kiss had caused her hanyou friend.

**' _Dead silence crept into the air during the awkward moment. Inuyasha had intruded on Kagome locking lips with one of his arch enemies, but yet both sides felt betrayled. Her chocolate eyes widened in shock as she heard her name being screamed through the tree tops and they stayed plastered that way as she gazed at the hanyou before her. "Inuyasha..." Kagome's voice came out slightly saddened at what had happened._**

_**Though her voice reached Inuyasha's ears, she couldn't be heard. A loud ringing had struck his ear drums. The annoying sound pushed its way over all other noises, even that of his once beloved Kagome. So instead of hearing her soothing voice, only a muffled sound came through. His amber orbs stared at the site before him, watching in disbeliefe as his half brother dropped his hand from Kagome's face and unlocked her lips all in a few seconds. Why? Why did he see that? His thoughts shouted towards the sky, asking Kami himself why he tortured him so and toyed with his emotions as he had done before. "Kagome..." The ringing in his ears broke free at the sound of her name falling from his lips. "Why Kagome?"**_

_**"Inuyasha I can explain!" Her voice turned suddenly from worried to frantic and she quickly spun on her heel, facing him fully. She continued on with her explanation, stuttering words such as I, you, and well out over and over again in a continuous pattern, searching for the right words to put the situation into.**_

**_He did his best to listen, but the closed minded hanyou wouldn't hear another word. Rage over came him at the single thought of their locked lips and the kiss they've once shared. "Die!" Inuyasha lunged forward with his sword high over head. Kagome's eyes widened at this site and quickly turned with her eyes closed, in horror, secretely wondering if she was his target this dreadful day. But despite her thoughts, a gust of wind swept pass her and soon enough, the clashing of swords was all she heard. The sound was followed by another and another intertwined with small grunts of heaving and pushing. When she stood and turned, a horrific site fell before her. Her friend Inuyasha and her new found love Sesshoumaru were battleing over her. "Stop it!" Despite her will to stop their war, the brothers continued on._ '**

As this memory left her mind as fast as they entered she quickly turned her head. Sesshoumaru's awaiting lips met the soft skin upon Kagome's cheek with disappointment. He pulled back ever so slightly only to find distress etched upon Kagome's face. "I see. Then I shall accompany you to your comrads."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

The humid evening air clouded the once beautiful sky, giving it a dusty blue color. Despite the heat, the beautiful songs of birds rang through the air, piercing humidity, but not riding the land of it's heat. A young hanyou sat up right against the famous Goshimboku tree which held so many memories for him and his fading love. He had gone against his friends' wishes and strayed away for a few hours in order to get his thoughts straight. "They don't understand..." He dropped his eyes down to cast themselves at the ground as he spoke aloud to no one imparticular. "I loved her. I still love her. How could she do this to me!" His voice rose with anger and as his anger flared he slammed his right fist into the earth beneath him. Small clouds of dust and dirt flying into the air at the sudden action. Once the dry dirt fell through the creases of his fingers he felt a small wave of relief from expressing his anger and his voice soon softened. "How?..."

Unknown to the silver haired man, a young maiden had watched the entire scene. Her chocolate eyes flickered with disgust in herself. How could she have caused so much pain in one being by a simple kiss? Was it possible Inuyasha truly loved her as much as he claimed he did that one day? Or was it just the pain causing him to be dellusional? Only time would tell and the young girl knew this. Once he had settled down, Kagome emerged from the thickest part of the forest, stepping into the man's site.

Inuyasha's eyes jerked up from the ground only to find his beloved in front of him, merely feet away. How was he unable to sense her. Him and his damn human emotions. This was their main downfall. He shook his hatred for them aside and immidately scurried to his feet, whipping unseen tears away from his eyes. "Kagome! I didn't notice you."

She rose her hand up to hush him, but quickly placed it back to her side. "It's okay Inuyasha." Her steady footsteps soon brough her towards him, now only inches from his face.

"Ho.. How long have you been there?"

Her eyes casted down to the ground, boring holes into the earth out of hatred for her ownself. She hated the thought of eavesdropping on her friend, but was too entranced by his words to move. "Long enough." This was the only thing she could think of to say.

"So. You heard?"

"Everything."

"I see."

"Inuyasha?" Her petit hands began to fondle her jeans absentmindedly in order to keep her mind off of the main situation.

"What?"

"I..." She then began to make circles in the dry dirt beneath them with her toe, adding onto the irritation of Inuyasha as he took note to every little move she made. "I'm not sure if I want to be with Sesshoumaru."

Her words immidately shot a sensation of pride through his body. "Then leave the bastard!"

"But I'm not positive I want to be with you either."

His silver dog ears flattened against his head. Had his ears just decieved him, or was she claiming she couldn't choose between the two brothers? "Kagome. You have to choose."

The young miko nodded. "I know this! You don't understand how hard it is!"

Inuyasha's black brows furrowed with disbelievement. "Hard for you?" Once again his voice rose in anger. "And how is it hard for you to choose between two men, one who loves you dearly?" He refered to himself of course.

"You don't understand!" The constant twirling of dirt with her toe ceased and she now gripped the fabric on her leg tightly in a white knuckled fist. Her raven bangs shadowed out her hurt eyes. How could he say such a thing. She loved him dearly, but after all he put her through with the jewel and Kikyou, how could she give herself to him?

"I understand perfectly!" His voice came out rougher than ever. "You have us in your hands and now you're playing us like a silly game!"

Her eyes narrowed into tiny slits at his words. "How. Dare. You?" Her head jerked up, fire ablaze behind chocolate walls. Such a heat emitted from them that it practically pushed the hanyou backwards. "How dare you!" She quickly let go of her pant leg and lashed out towards the man in front of her. Her hands balled up into fists and began to beat on his chest with full blown anger, muttering the same words she spoke before throughout her rage.

Inuyasha stumbled back slightly until he caught himself and her as she lashed out at him. Though her punches didn't hurt, her words did. She was right. How could he say such a thing like that about his precious Kagome? And then he realized the reason why. She wasn't his any longer. Reality hit him hard in the face and he soon brought his strong arms up to wrap around the outraged miko. She settled slightly at his touch and soon sank into his chest, leaning her entire body and relying on his support to stand. He rose a clawed hand and began to smooth her already silky hair down her back. "I'm sorry Kagome. I'm so sorry." Salty tears poured down her cheeks in rivers and the smell of salt soon reached his sensitive nose. It hurt him even more to know that she was crying, but calmed him to know she was in his arms and not his brother's.

The sound of crying soon stopped and her body began to heave with giant sobs of frustration, saddness, and anger all mixed into one. She was now beyond the point of crying. In order to catch her breath she pulled back slightly, taking in a large amount of fresh oxygen. Once her body was content with the newly acquired hair, she pushed herself back into the man's chest before her.

His silver hair spilled over the woman's small frame and he soon slid them both to their knees so he could hold her at a much more comfortable position for the both of them. She paid no mind as to what he was doing and just followed him down to the earth, only slightly noticing how the dry dust flew up as they desturbed it. They then sat there, him clutching her for all he was worth, until her sobs calmed down.

Once she had caught her breath, the young miko pulled away. "Inu... yasha." He hushed her slightly, urging her to take her time with her words and not push herself but the woman was too persistant. "I loved you, but you loved Kikyou."

"I know." His amber orbs pulled themselves from her chocolate depths.

"I still love you."

"I love you as well."

She nodded. "But something tells me this wasn't meant to be."

Inuyasha's heart stopped at that moment and even though he knew this would come, he still wasn't entirely ready for it. "But we could make it..." He was stopped by Kagome's small finger pressing firmly up against his lips.

"No, Inuyasha, we couldn't. I care for you so much and I couldn't live without here, but you love Kikyou."

He jerked his face back, causing her hand to fall into her lap and free his lips for speech. "No! I don't love her Kagome! I love you!"

"You say that, but I find it hard to believe."

"Why!" His clawed hands shot up, gripping her upper arms and balled into a tight fist full of her pale yellow sweater. "Why do you believe him and not me!" Tears threatened to spill onto tanned cheeks, but he wouldn't physically allow it.

She brought her hands up, laying them gently on his. "He has never said he loved me."

"Then why are you leaving me!"

Kagome took in a deep breath. "I'm not. I've decided to come back to the group." She thought it best not to tell him of her soon to be nightly meetings with his despised half brother. "I'll be helping you guys with our search again." The young miko then let a small smile tug at the corner of her lips.

He too aloud a small, but fake smile pull at his lips. "That's great." His ears then randomly swirled to the left, signling that he had heard something.

"Who is it Inuyasha?"

A small sigh escaped from parted lips as the hanyou stood, pulling the young miko up with him. "Just Miroku and Sango, but if we don't dust ourselves off that stupid monk will be full of perverted questions. So dry your eyes."

She nodded in agreement and began to clean herself up.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Author's Note:** This was a teaser chapter yet again because I have to get my muse flowing and my mom got be a bit irritated. So sorry for the disappointment. At least it's a chapter. Lol. This is also to throw a bit more conflict into the story since I'm twisted like that and don't think there is enough of it yet. ' So there we go.

**What's To Come:** Kagome and Inuyasha join the others and the old group is back together again, slaying demons like old times. Maybe, for once within the last while, there might actually be a normal day for the stressed out Kagome. Not!

**Vocabulary:  
**Goshimboku - The sacred tree Inuyasha was pinned to.  
Hanyou - A half demon.  
Miko - A human, normally female, who has unusual spiritual powers.

**Reviewer Responses:  
**Kaida Black - I'm a mean person. Lol.  
Sailor Millenium - Hmmm... I'll have to check that out. And for the mean time, I'm glad you liked my story. hermonine - It's been a while, but I did update. Lol.  
Ladyofthewest15 - Cute username! Lol. I'm glad you love my story.  
Sesshou's Bynx/S.Wooz - Evilly short should be my middle name! Lol. Seeing as how this chapter was the same way. Sorry. And I'm so happy you think this fic has potential! Thanks so much for being there!  
kmkoolj2010 - This is what happens next. Lol. Glad you liked.  
animebook fan - Lol. I have two words for you too. I did! Lol.   
Sesshoumaru's Miko - Yeah, 40 would probablly be way too many chapters. Hopefully it'll end somewhere between 30 -35. No more than that. Lol. I'm glad you like it!  
animefreak404112 - It's no problem. Lol. Now take long deep breaths and calm down. XD Yeah, I wouldn't mind having a 'forbidden moonlight meeting' either, especially with the extremely sexy Sesshoumaru! Lol. And thanks for answering all my polls!  
Lady Lenn - I'm glad you like it a lot.  
AnimusPatronus - 75 chapters! 0.0 Wow! Lol. I don't think I could take it that long. Maybe if I included the sequel in with it, but I plan on making that a seperate fic, which you can read about it my profile by the way. Lol. But I'll have to check out that 75 chapter fic.

_REMEMBER THE POLL!_ Lol...

**Current Polls:** Answer the question below and get a link to your site and/or profile page on my profile page! n.n  
**1.** Have you read any of my other fics? If so, what did you think about them? If not, why? Lol. This has nothing to do with the story and is mainly out of my own curiosity.


	21. Meeting At The Hot Springs

**Author's Note:** This fic is slowly but surely coming to an end... u.u 

**Disclaimer:** Of course I don't own Inuyasha.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Changes During Time  
Meeting At The Hot Springs**

A young boy's voice pierced the once treasured silence the past lovers shared as the kitsune bounded through the thinnest part of the forest and into Kagome's arms. His deep eyes glistened with delight at the sight of his adopted mother and she soon found his face burried into her chest.

Following not too far behind the young fox demon were her two closest friends in the feudal era. The demon slayer stepped into the clearing next, astonishment over coming her facial features. "Kagome..." Though she looked excited at first, her expression soon softened to a look of hurt and disappointment.

A male hand emerged from the trees, pushing the woman before him slightly aside so he wouldn't be behind her any longer, then the young Miroku stepped from the same area. "Ah! Lady Kagome!" A large grin plastered his face and though the young miko did a fairly good job of cleaning herself off, he still took note of the small patches of dirt on her upper thighs and her swollen red eyes from crying. "Is all well?"

Kagome absentmindedly patted Shippou's head while he rested in her welcoming arms then nodded towards the monk's question. "Of course. I've decided to come back and help you guys with your search again. Like good ole' days." A radiant smile crossed her face.

The two elder friends nodded towards her statement, Sango even forced a small smile to spread across her lips. The hanyou behind the young woman had turned around, his arms crossed tightly in their normal position and he had yet again put on his tough attitude as a show. Kagome smiled inwardly at this but spoke nothing of it. However her thoughts were interrupted by Inuyasha's rough voice. "Feh! Let's get going." He then took up his normal stride towards the northwest.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hours drug on endlessly for the small group. Kagome had naturally taken to Inuyasha as normal and was once again riding upon his back. Her brown eyes shifted backwards to find Miroku and Sango in the sky with her adopted son, all riding upon Kirara. The young monk's staff was placed in front of the demon slayer's stomach and he gripped both ends of it tightly so as not to fall off. She smiled outwardly at this sight, wondering if the two would ever actually settle down for real.

She was jerked from her thoughts when a small tingling sensation shot through her body. She brought her gaze to infront of them and a serious look plastered itself on her face. She craned her neck slightly so as to whisper into the hanyou's ear. "There is a jewel shard straight ahead."

Before she could give it's exact location the earth beneath Inuyasha's feet began to rumble. The unnatural earth quake was followed by a roar so loud that it caused even Kagome's ears to vibrate insanely. The hanyou shot his clawed hands up to cover his highly sensitiv canine ears as he doubled over slightly. The earth began to tremble once more and when the half dog demon rose his head to see what had intruded, he came face to face with a rather large beast.

Before Inuyasha stood a full fledged gorilla demon who posessed a shard of the Shikon No Tama. It's stature was over twelve feet tall and it's upper body brod. His beady black eyes peered at the hanyou with hunger and he began to pound of his chest without rythem as another loud roar emitted from his throat.

The miko slid off her friend's back, standing beside him and nocking an arrow onto her bow. She aimed with a steady hand and then let the arrow fly. The beast fell down onto all fours just as the arrow flew over head, dodging the deadly purifying attack on accident. At first her eyes widened in disbelief, but soon filled with determination.

Behind her, two sets of helping hands landed on the earth with Shippou in tow. Miroku's voice boomed over the gorilla's call. "Where is the jewel shard?"

It stunned the miko that the monk had asked the question instead of the head strong hanyou, but found him barely able to stand due to the termendous sound. She watched though as he stood his ground despite the pain ringing in his ears, with the Tetsusaiga gripped tightly in his hands. Her eyes drifted back to the beast before her, setting her sights upon the glowing piece of flesh in it's right shoulder. "There! On it's right shoulder!"

A smirk immidately overcame the hanyou's face and before Kagome had time to notice he had lept forward, his trusty sword high over his head. His lips began to form the famous deadly attack but he was quickly swatted away by the over sized mammal. He flipped in mid air, landing safely on the ground a good fifteen feet away from the beast.

Kagome's eyes narrowed as she brought another arrow from her satchle and nocked it on her bow, pulling it back tightly. She aimed once again and, as the gorilla's attention was focused on the hanyou, she let it fly. The arrow whizzed through the air, hitting it's target dead center on it's right shoulder. Time seemed to stop as it penetrated the flesh of the gorilla, snatching the jewel fragment from the meat. Another agonizing roar echoed throughout the trees before the beast's body fell to a large pile of dust. She quickly jogged over towards the death site of their last oppenent and dug her hand into the ashy pile of sand that contained the jewel shard. Her figers snatched the fragment up as soon as she was aware of it's location and pulled it from the dry grave site, a content look upon her face. When she turned on her heal to face her friends she was met with gleaming faces.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Their search had continued, but due to a great deal of complaining from the young Shippou and the fact that the humans were growing tired, the group had settled down in a rather familiar place. The remainders of a previous camp site were left behind. A black mark sat idly between two large tree trunks and between these two tree trunks were two seperate places where there were obviously sleeping materials of somesort. It then struck Kagome that this was the first place they had made camp when she returned.

Inuyasha had already realized it and picked this place merely out of conveniance due to the fact that Miroku and he wouldn't have to clear out space for the women to lie their covers.

Sango eyed Miroku as he emerged from the forest with armfulls of fire wood, which he tossed directly into the man made pit. Her gaze then shifted to the tired Kagome who still had fragments of ash up her right arm from the retrieval of the jewel fragment. She smiled at the thought of the bravery her friend had showed in so many situations. "Kagome?"

"Yes Sango?"

"How about you and I retreat to the local hot springs and take a dip?"

The memory of her last trip to said hot springs flooded back to her thoughts. It was, indeed, the first time she had a personal encounter with Sesshoumaru. She sighed though, pushing all thoughts of that day behind and a smile etched across her face. "Of course! Sounds like a good idea!"

The two women turned and began to leave the camp sight when they suddenly stopped in their tracks. The young kitsune bumped into the calf of Kagome's leg. Following him was Inuyasha who stepped halfway onto Shippou and nudged into Kagome's back. The entire group was the shoved forwards by the impact of Miroku into Inuyasha. All together the train of followers were halted in their tracks.

A fumming Kagome and Sanog turned on their heals to face the culprits. A fine eyebrow belonging to Kagome began to twitch. "And where do you think you guys are going?"

Once the kitsune emerged from underneath Inuyasha's bare foot, he quickly stumbled back, hiding behind the hanyou's leg. Inuyasha threw stood his ground while the monk threw his hands up in defense. "Listen here wench! I remember exactly what happened the last time you two went to the hot springs and I aint about to let you go alone!"

Her eyes simply narrowed into small slips. "Inuyasha, I can handle myself."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah!"

"Well I don't think you can!"

Her eyebrow took up it's natural twitching yet again as her hands balled up into irritated fists. "Inuyasha... SIT!" The hanyou before her plowed into the ground as the earth gave way beneath the heavy weight.

As the miko turned around, Sango shot Miroku a death glare, causing the monk to stumble backwards and perch upon one of the two logs on either side of the fire, holding his staff in a tight grasp for his life. The girls, content with their actions, turned and headed towards the springs.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Running water reached two pair of ears and smiles soon stretched across two seperate faces as the women approached their destination. Sango was the first to step onto the platform of rocks, pulling the miko up behind her. Without speaking to each other, they both began to shed their layers of clothing, allowing them to freely drop to the ground before drifting into the hot and welcoming liquid.

Soft moans of contentment flooded the air as they enjoyed their well deserved sanctuary, but the silence was soon broken by the demon slayer's spoke thoughts. "Kagome? Why are men... well... men?"

A soft smile spread across her lips as she tilted her head back, wetting her hair. "Well, not all of them are like that. Actually, most of the ones in my time are sweet."

"Sweet? Like how?"

"Lets see." She brought her small finger to her chin, tapping it lightly out of thought until she worded her explanation correctly. "Like they bring you flowers for no reason, just to show they care. And they woe you over with sweet words of endearment. And they carry things for you when they are too heavy." Her eyes shifted to her friend who seemed lost in a dream of her own. Instead of continueing she brought about her own question. "Why do you ask?"

Sango was quickly snapped from her thoughts at her friend's question. "I was just wondering."

"About who?" A wicked grin crossed the young miko's face.

"Oh! Ummm, no one imparticular." A faint tint of crimson flushed through the demon slayer's cheeks and over her nose.

Kagome's smile didn't falter as she edged towards the woman, nudging her slightly with her elbow. "It was Miroku, wasn't it."

The tint of crimson immidately turned a brighter shade, practically engulfing Sango's face and if the miko were to smile any wider it would surely split her face in two. All settled down though as the demon slayer didn't answer her question until Kagome commented yet again. "Listen Sango. It may not seem like it, but I think Miroku cares about you alot."

"You really think so?" She tilted her head back, gazing at the sky as faint oranges and reds over took the horizan beyond the tree tops.

"Yeah, I do."

The demon slayer nodded in agreement at her friend's words. "I hope so." She mused about a beautiful future with a health Miroku, who was freed from the evil Naraku's cursid wind tunnle. "Kagome?"

She recognized her friend's question with a simple beat of a hum.

"Why?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Why did you abandon Inuyasha for Sesshoumaru?" Her dark eyes fell from the sky to her friend.

Her gaze shifted to the rippling water. "I didn't abandon him. There is more to the story than what you know."

"Then tell me."

"It's not complicated you know. I saw Inuyasha and Kikyou together. He seemed so... happy with her. I didn't want to take that away from him. With all my anger and sadness built up inside me I took off in a histaric run. When I came upon a clearing, Sesshoumaru and I crossed paths. Everything happened so fast..."

The elder friend nodded at her comrad's shortened story. "I see..."

Kagome nodded then began to lather up her hair. Sango followed, doing their same routine before she sunk herself under the water, allowing it to wash away the soap naturally. She emerged seconds later, her hair plastered to the top of her head. "I'm about ready to go, how about you?"

The miko's eyes shifted to her with an odd look and she merely shook her head in a no manner. Taking the hint, Sango rose from the hot springs, pulling her tiny body from the warm water and drying herself off with one of Kagome's towls the two had snatched up during their storm out of the camp. Once dry she folded the towl neatly again and placed it in it's place. "I'll head back to camp and meet you there. Be careful Kagome, I don't want to see you heart broken."

Her friend smiled a 'don't worry about me' smile and gestured her friend that it was okay to leave by lifting her hand out of the water and motioning towards the camp. Sango dressed herself and heaved her trusty weapon onto her back with ease before departing from the springs.

The smile upon the miko's face widened once her friend left and she slowly closed her eyes. "I know you're there, so you might as well come out." Her statement was met with nothing and for a brief moment she thought that she might have been wrong, but she was sure of herself that Sesshoumaru had appeared not long after the two had emerged into the water. Just before she was about to pull herself from the welcoming bath, a rustle escaped from the bushes. Her eyes gazed at them until a foot emerged from their depths.

Soon enough an entire form fell in place before her. He stood tall and proud with his silver hair and silky robes billowing in the breeze. "You've become quite sharp. Or perhaps you wished I would be there." Despite the kiss he shared with the girl and the emotions he had to try so desperately to push back when she was around, he still held his same collected tone.

Though she wished to free herself from the grasp of the lake and throw herself into the strong arms of the inuyoukai, she wouldn't dare expose herself in the open, yet alone in front of a man whom she wasn't sure she loved.

Her personal plea was answered when he began shedding his clothing, dropping them cooly to the ground beside hers. His nude being stood before her, the moonlight highlighting all the right areas of his perfectly toned body. A smile threatened to pull at the corner of her lips but she forcefully pushed it away. He slowly began to step into the springs. Once his body was emerged into the water, his hair sprayed out across the surface, it's silky exterior glistening with the liquid.

He moved towers her slowly, his right arm outstretched as if pleading for her to come into his grasp. The miko collapsed inside and threw herself towards the man before her. Water splashed up around them at her sudden movements but the demon lord caught her non-the-less. He wrapped his arms around her, comforting her without even trying by stroking her silky raven tresses down her head and into the water. In return, she burried her face into his bare chest, clasping onto his brod shoulders with her tiny hands.

They seemed to stay in this position forever and if it were up to the young woman, eternity would have still been too short. He released one of his hands, grasping her chin in his own rough manner and pulling her face to look at him yet again. Her chocolate eyes melted at his gaze and she soon became putty in his hands. The great inuyoukai craned his neck, leaning down, and capturing her in a hungry kiss. She closed her eyes, welcoming the gesture of love with no resent. Soon enough the kiss turned devouring as she granted him access into her mouth. His tongue plunged inwards, tasting her truly for the first time.

He broke the kiss shourtly after, but only to plaster small pecks on the corner of her lips and making a trail across her cheek and to her neck. He then began to devour her yet again. She arched her head backwards, closing her eyes in a pleasurable moment and tightening her grip on his shoulders. Never before had she felt such... love.

The night passed by quickly and their bodies intertwined with each other throughout their movement, but the demon lord had not taken her innocence beyond kissing. Once again he held her tightly in his arms. Her head burried in his bare chest for the uncountable time that night, but this time she placed sweet kisses upon his smooth skin. He stroked her back with his exposed claws, gently enough so as not to harm her.

A bird began chirpping happily from deep within the forest and this one noise snapped Kagome from her current position. She pulled her head up, gazing at the sky in disblief. Morning would come in no more than two hours. Sesshoumaru took note of her worried look. "What's wrong?"

Her look of worry turned to sadness. "I need to get back."

He didn't argue and merely swung his right hand under the water, pulling her legs out from under her and cradling her bridal style. With little effort he brought them both from the steaming liquid, their nude forms now exposed to the morning's air. She slid down his body and knelt down, snatching up her towl and drying off quickly before sliding her undergarmets on, followed by her jeans then her sweater. He too dried off, then began layering his clothing back on until he finally locked his right breast armor in place. When his golden amber orbs fell upon her again a large smile plastered her face. "I enjoyed myself."

He nodded in agreement but before he could speak she had closed the small distance and captured him in a farewell kiss. Just as quickly as she had done so, she let go, turning on her heal and bounding back towards her camp leaving an astonished Sesshoumaru. "Intrigueing..."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Author's Note:** A very looonnng chapter... for me anyways! Lol. I did all of this in one day starting late at night and didn't finish until 4am. This is what I do for my loyal reviewers! Lol. Well I hope it was worth it. Yup... there was Kagome x Sesshoumar fluff because I'm nice like that. Lol.

**What's To Come:** The gang is out on another day in their adventure when they run into the famous wolf demon. Will Kouga be able to tell a difference in Kagome's scent and what happens when he begins his usual antics on her beauty and her being 'his woman'?

**Vocabulary:  
**Hanyou - A half demon.  
Inuyoukai - Dog demon.  
Miko - A human, normally female, who has unusual spiritual powers.  
Monk - A holy being.

**Reviewer Responses:**  
Ladyofthewest15 - No problem! Thanks for reviewing.  
Lady Lenn - Mwahaha! That is one of the evil questions only I know the answer to! Lol. Actually, I'm not sure even I know. Maybe it's because she 'intrigues' him as he said before and in this chapter.  
hermonine - I updated!  
Kouga's #1 fan - You don't know why you haven't read any of my other stories! Lol. It's all good. Thanks for reviewing and I'm glad you liked the previous chapter.  
KayathePriestess - Your first Sesshoumaru x Kagome fic huh? Pretty cool. I'm glad you liked it.  
animefreak404112 - I would never change the pairing! Even though I do feel a bit sorry for Inuyasha. u.u Though I'm devoted to Sesshoumaru I still love that hanyou as well. Lol. Well the first meeting commenced in this chapter. I hope you liked it. And yeah, I can't wait to get started on the sequel but I don't want to rush this fic. Lol.  
Sesshoumaru's Miko - Lol, I understand the thing about reading so many others. I get so confused and then have to remember to update my own. ' Yeah, I feel sorry for Inuyasha too, but I'm still Sesshoumaru obsessed because of his awesome/sexi-ness. Lol.  
Sesshou's Bynx/S.Wooz - Yeah, I tried to make up for the shortness of my last few chapters by lengthening this one. Hope it worked. You should feel loved! You've done so much! Lol. Thanks! A made-up getting mugged? Hmm... I don't believe that one belonged to me. Lmao!

_REMEMBER THE POLL!_ Lol...

**Current Polls:** Answer the question below and get a link to your site and/or profile page on my profile page! n.n  
**1.** If I continue with a sequel to this story would you read it? (For information about the sequal see my profile page.)


	22. Perhaps Another Day

**Author's Note: **It's been too long since I've updated this story and I have some news: My cousin brought me Microsoft Office 2003 so hopefully there won't be that many spelling errors since we all know I'm not exactly the best speller in the world.

**Disclaimer:** I clearly don't own the anime Inuyasha or any of the characters, for if I did, I would defiantly not be writing fan fictions about it and would be rich, which I'm not. Lol.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Changes During Time  
****Perhaps Another Day**

The young miko had just fallen asleep when something hard hit her chest, bouncing on it up and down until she stirred awake. Chocolate eyes awoke to see a certain kitsune on top of her full of morning joy. "Good morning Kagome!" His boyish voice called out.

She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes in small balled up fists and with a yawn she responded. "Good morning Shippou." When she glanced around she took note of how the others had already been awake and must have been waiting for her to rise, for they were all dressed and ready to go.

The woman sat up, causing the young boy to plummet off her chest and into her welcoming lap, which was now stripped of the covers she had used for warmth while on her sleeping bag. Just as she was about to stand and adjust her clothing, a familiar gruff voice rang through her ears. "'Bought time you got up."

Kagome sighed inwardly. It was just like Inuyasha to turn what was such a beautiful night into an all out war zone by morning. "I was tired." Her knees met the soft dirt before she pushed herself up, now leaving Shippou to himself in the comfort of her soft sleeping bag and mess of covers.

He turned on his heal, immediately placing his back towards the rest of the group. "No doubt..." The words came out more as a mumble, but the miko heard them clear enough.

"And what is that suppose to mean?"

With another rough movement of shoving his hands across his chest he sighed heavily outward. "Nothing, now hurry up!"

Though Kagome was surely up for a fight, as she normally was, she took it upon herself to keep the argument between the two of them as low as possible. After all, it never did the group any good when the two were at a war of words with each other, now did it?

Soon enough the small group of six had began on their journey once again. Miroku held onto his staff sternly, which was positioned across Sango's stomach to keep from falling off of the fast paced Kirara, who aloud the two to travel upon her back with Shippou perched upon the monk's shoulder. Beneath them, with as much skill as ever, Inuyasha sprinted from side to side. His arms tucked gently under Kagome's legs as they hit the ground then took to the air once more, only to land and repeat the process.

Unknown to any of the members of the small group, an unknown youkai lurked stealthily in the shadows, watching with great interest.

Chocolate orbs shifted to the sky, taking note at how it held its own simple beauty. Their gaze quickly shifted to the rear end of the group as an odd sensation shot through her stomach. Her tender lips rested by the hanyou's sensitive ear. "Jewel shards are approaching fast."

At the calmness of her voice, the silver-haired man knew the only person it could be and as he stopped and whirled around to face the once empty space behind them, a black haired man stopped just before colliding into the duo.

Kagome slid off of her friend's back, watching as the tornado of wind and dust settled down to reveal Kouga's handsome form. His black hair plastered up into the same high pony tail while his crystal blue eyes sparkled from the sun. If it was even possible, the lit up more at the site of Kagome and quickly swept his arm around her thing waist. "Ah, my lovely Kagome."

A blush over took her cheeks as she peered up to the wolf man. "It's good to see you too Kouga." She sent him a sweet smile before prying herself out of his arms just as Inuyasha was about to protest at how close they were.

Another smile lit up his face at hearing her tender voice and the young prince didn't even notice her friends land behind them, taking this short break to their advantage and allowing Kirara to rest. "You're looking as beautiful as ever."

His last statement didn't seem to help the furious blush spreading across her entire face and her hands quickly found her pockets in order to keep her mind busy, but the wonderful compliments were cut short as a certain hanyou butted into their conversation.

"Back away from her flea bag!"

Kouga's brow furrowed at the hanyou's insult, but quickly returned one of his own. "Yeah, well she's not exactly yours dog turd!"

This time it was Inuyasha's turn to blush and he quickly looked away, finding a sudden interest in a far away bush in order to hide the redness of his cheeks. "Yeah? Well I never said she was…"

Kagome's mood had quickly switched from happy to see her friend to upset from her two friend's arguing. "You two should just stop it. This arguing gets you guys no where."

The black haired man sighed in defeat, knowing better to go against the woman he loved. "It is true. I'm glad I've been able to keep such a beautiful woman as mine." He spoke such words with such confidence that it practically caused every person in the group to fall over except for himself.

The silence was cut short as two young men jogged into the clearing, their attire similar to Kouga's, but their hair styles differed greatly and every time Kagome saw them she had to stifle a laugh.

"Lady Kagome." The one in front, known as Ginta huffed as he bent over, placing his hands upon his knees and began gasping for hair. Despite is obvious lack of oxygen from running after his prince; he looked up with stunning eyes and sent said girl a smile. "It's lovely to see you again."

His friend pulled up the rear, copying Ginta's action while nodding in response with the previous wolf youkai's statement.

"It's nice to see you two as well." Once again the miko put on a genuine smile and watched as the two sent one back as well. "You guys look awfully tired, how about something to drink?"

Their faces seem to light up at the thought of resting for a moment, but immidately faded as Kouga broke into the conversation. "They're fine Kagome."

Her chocolate orbs shifted towards him, sending him a confused glance before bracing herself for a small dispute, not knowing if the wolf prince would argue back with her like Inuyasha did. "Nonsense, Kouga." She slid her yellow back pack around from her back, pulling out two bottles of water and handing them to the awaiting youkai. "They look tired and a rest would do us all some good." This caused her to receive a glare from hell from a certain hanyou, but she easily shrugged it off knowing it was only because he wasn't fond of her friends.

The two men took the water, unscrewing the caps without a second thought, and greedily chugged the liquid down in a matter of minutes. Water trickled down their masculine chins, causing Kagome to chuckle aloud. Sango smiled in return to her friend's genuine laughter and soon joined the group with Kirara in her arms, followed by Miroku and the young kitsune.

A good distance away, the unknown figure watched in aw as the intriguing woman worked her charm on all her friends, winning them over with her true personality as the group stopped for a rest. His thoughts of the lovely woman were jerked away at the annoying half demon's voice.

"Kagome!"

Said woman whirled on her heals to face an annoyed hanyou. "What is it Inuyasha?"

He huffed once more, crossing his arms over his chest in a stubborn manner. "I think we should get going."

"And I think we should stay."

"It's almost dark and we need to find somewhere to stay before night sets in." His eyes began to narrow at the thought of having to spell everything out for her.

She too sent a glare his way, but knowing he was set about getting a roof over their heads due to the fact that it looked like rain and Miroku might have to work his magic on the local shelter. "Fine…" She sighed and whirled back around, a small smile plastered on her face. "Sorry guys, but we do need to get going."

The two demons before her nodded understandably, but Kouga held a hurt expression on his face at the thought of leaving the woman. "Must you?"

She nodded once more in return. Her eyes soon widened as a strong arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her to a solid form. As she looked up, Kouga's sculpted face came into view. "Then perhaps another day."

A low growl emitted from Inuyasha's chest, but the wolf prince didn't seem to mind.

"Sure Kouga." A small smile spread across her lips as she pushed out of the man's arms and watched as he took off, leaving behind a devastated Ginta and Hakkaku who immidately took after their prince.

Letting out her breath, she smiled inwardly at herself and immidately climbed onto the hanyou's back, allowing him to cuff his hands under her knees once more and take to sprinting. Behind them their three friends climbed onto a transformed Kirara, following them shortly after.

Once the group was gone, but still within his senses, the tall figure pulled himself from the bushes, not liking it one bit that he took it upon himself to sink as low as spying on the small group of travelers. His silver hair fell loosely down his back as a small gust of wind swept by, pulling the lovely sent of the miko under his nose and all regrets of sinking left him as he took after the group, not trusting the hanyou who was suppose to be his half-brother to protect the woman he was falling in love with.

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**Author's Note:** Sorry it had taken me so long to update. I went on vacation five days ago and just returned yesterday, but that's no excuse, so I'm sorry yet again. I do have good news though. While on vacation and spending a lot of time in the car, I figured out where I wanted to go with this story and exactly how I wanted to end it, so no worries there. But when I returned I received a review from celestialprincessofblood on Part IX and they said "sory this is beginning to get boring sory!" It hurt to think that someone lost interest in my story and it seriously took a lot for me to continue, but I figured, if the rest of you didn't like it, then you wouldn't read it. No need to stop because of what a small percentage says, even though I would never do that because I love writing too much.

However, when I did go back and reread some earlier chapters from almost a year ago, I realized how much my style of writing as changed and that my story doesn't begin to show my true writing until well after Part X, which is sad because that is a lot of chapters for people to go through. So I've decided how to end this story and hopefully can keep the sequel interesting. No worries though! It's not over yet! Lol.

**What's To Come: **It seems the gang has a familiar stalker due to the presence of Kagome. What happens when the group runs into problems and Inuyasha is pulled away from Kagome's side, leaving her defenseless against their foe?

**Vocabulary:  
**Hanyou - A half demon.  
Inuyoukai - Dog demon.  
Kitsune – A young fox demon.  
Miko - A human, normally female, who has unusual spiritual powers.  
Monk - A holy being.  
Youkai – A full demon.

**Reviewer Responses:  
**Clouds of the Sky – I'm glad you like it and sorry for the wait.  
sabbs – Lol. I'm not sure if I'll make it a lemon. Hmm… that might be a good poll. But I will add more fluff because of Sesshoumaru's sexy-ness!  
Ladyofthewest15 – I'm so glad you are interested in it! It really helps me when I hear people comment on liking my stories. Thanks!  
Sesshou's Bynx/S.Wooz – Lol. I don't believe I deleted such a story, but I didn't combine all my one-shots, poems, and song-fics into one place called Bits and Pieces. Lol. And there will no doubt be a sequel. Thanks!  
Kouga's #1 fan – Thanks so much! I'm glad you liked the chapter! That sounds like a good title, but I want to try to loop it in with the title of this one, maybe something like "Changes Between Brothers". Lol. Thanks though!  
Sesshoumaru's Miko – Of course I would finish this one before I made the sequel. Lol. And Sesshoumaru is definitely sexy!  
hermonine – Glad you liked it!  
Demonic Devils – I updated! Lol.  
Lady Lenn – Lol. He is definitely intriguing which is why I'm in love with him so! And I will definitely write the sequel!  
AnimusPatronus – I'm glad you think my story is really good and compare it to such a lengthy fan fic! It means a lot. When I get the time I'll try and read it, but no promises! Thanks!  
SilveRose2492 – Wonder Good! Lol. Thanks!  
midnight-darkness7 – Loving this story is good! I'm glad you like it and I'll be making a sequel!  
Kiraracutie4 – Angsty… hmmm… Yeah, I guess it is. Lol. Don't worry, I will!

_REMEMBER THE POLL!_ Lol...

**Current Polls: **Answer the question below and get a link to your site and/or profile page on my profile page! n.n  
**1. **Should I leave Sesshoumaru and Kagome at just 'fluff' or take it to a 'lemon'? Please tell me your reasons as well for I wouldn't want to offend anybody.


	23. Rescuer From The Shadows

**Author's Note: **I'm back and roaring with ideas, but I've had a hard time putting them to paper, or in this case, computer screen, so I'll try and give it a shot, but no promises. So don't flame me if this chapter completely sucks! Thanks!

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha or any of the characters are not mine… It really is depressing…

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**Changes During Time  
****Rescuer From The Shadows**

Darkness had settled the sky, which was now sparkled with brilliant stars. Kagome's eyes shifted up in awe at the site of the sun setting over the horizon, for this wasn't a site to behold often in the modern era.

The group had discovered a small palace which seemed to scream out at Miroku and everyone knew, including their stalker, that his intentions were false until the young miko sensed the familiar feeling of a jewel shard near by. Inuyasha wasted no time in approaching the palace and now the four adults stood shoulder to shoulder awaiting for the lord to make his appearance.

A young man, seeming to be in his early twenties, stepped forth from the darkness within the door way. His black hair was pulled back into the usual top-knot and he sported elegant robes showing he was indeed royalty. The man's face scorned the males, but as he set site on the females before him, claiming they were part of the group who exterminated demons, a broad smile stretched across his face. "I find it hard to believe these young women help you men."

His statement caused the young miko, along with her demon slayer friend, to bristle and in unison they stomped their right foots into the ground. Miroku went to intervene their traveling companions, but immidately stepped away when Sango sent him a glare from hell.

Kagome stepped forward. "Now listen here. We may be women, but we are just as much help as these two are." She pointed a matter-a-fact finger at him, practically in his face.

The lord's facial expression would have normally been hilarious, but at the thought of Kagome insulting someone so high, it was practically scary. The young man was about to stand his ground when Inuyasha took a tight hold of Kagome's upper arm, yanking her back into her place in the row of adults. "Shut it Kagome…" He all but screamed at her and she knew he hadn't been joking.

Miroku took this time to speak up and decided to step forward. "We are so sorry about that, she tends to get a bit aggressive, but they both are truly a large amount of help.

The young man rose his right hand, moving it in a circle as if to show he didn't care and to dismiss the subject. "Whatever you say. You are all welcomed to stay here until the demon is vanquished."

Three of the four faces sent him a broad smile as they entered into his palace, making them comfortable on extremely fluffy cots to their liking in a guest room off to the side.

Shippou was currently digging into a rather full bowl of rice when he heard Inuyasha shuffle his feet and pull forward from the small room. The rest of the group followed, a bit shocked at the hanyou's sudden movement, but all fell in place as they saw Kagura step forth from the darkness. Her hair plastered high up atop her head, the usual white feather place delicately in her bun as her beautiful kimono fell down every curve just perfectly.

"Kagura…" Her name fell off Inuyasha's lips in a hiss."

She sent him a genuine smirk. "Good to see you too Inuyasha." But she had no time to finish their introduction, for Inuyasha had leapt forward, Tetsusaiga pulled from its sheath at his side.

"Die!"

But the wind sorceress was too quickly and side stepped just in time to see the hanyou stumble forwards, his trusty sword completely missing the target. She chuckled aloud at such a foolish site until Kagome's strong voice caught her attention. "Kagura!" As the young demoness turned to face said girl, Kagome aloud the string on her bow to snap, sending a purified arrow directly at her opponent.

Her red eyes went wide with disbelief until she found herself side stepping yet again, watching as the arrow gleamed pass her, leaving a streak of pink in it's wake and only catching the loose fabric of her shirt cause her upper arm to expose it self for all the world to see. She hissed outwardly. "You'll pay for that you bitch!" She outstretched her arm with the fan in her grasp and quickly flicked said object sideways, causing a numerous amounts of white blades to scream forth in Kagome's direction.

Her friends looked on in horror as Inuyasha turned around, no where near in time to save his beloved Kagome and as he was about ready to scream her name, an unseen figure emerged from the bushes, snatching the miko up in strong arms and pulling her out of harms way just as the blades plummeted into the palace walls, destroying all around them.

With her eyes shut tightly, the young woman was shocked when she felt no pain, but only the warm comfort of strong arms, which was the least of what she expected. "Who?..." Her eyes trailed up, only to find stunning amber eyes outlined by silver hair with such a beautiful face. It was non-other than the great demon lord himself. "Sesshoumaru."

The demon lord landed with ease on the ground to the side of the last attack, sliding Kagome down his lean body. She quickly stood, a faint blush tinting her cheeks while her friends gawked on in awe, but her thoughts were rudely interrupted by a specific woman.

"Sess… Sesshoumaru?" The man she had sought help from so long ago, and secretly adored, was now on his half-brothers side and saving a human no-less? How could this be? Sensing a sudden height in danger, the demoness quickly pulled the feather from her hair, not waiting as it transformed as she quickly jumped onto her escape and flew from the group's site, which were all too busy gawking at the site of Kagome still leaning towards the taiyoukai.

The miko didn't fail to notice the stares she received from her friend and immidately took a giant step away from her savior, but not before turning and thanking him silently with a flick of a gaze, which he seemed to understand completely.

"You bastard!" Inuyasha's rough voice ruined the moment once again. "Don't touch her!" The said hanyou began to lunge forward towards his arch enemy when his friend intervened.

"Sit boy!" The young man clad in red then plummeted to the earth, dirt and soil etching themselves into the creases of his body and hair until there seemed to be a large print of his form in the ground.

She turned only to see her three remaining friends along with Kirara staring at her with questioning gazes. Her hand absentmindedly found the back of her neck, rubbing it nervously. "Hey guys…"

"Kagome?" Sango's voice etched into her mind. "What is going on?"

"Nothing." Her answer was all too fast to convince their curiosity and so she came around with an explanation. "I promise." How lame was that? She couldn't even keep her head straight due to the embarrassing moment, not to mention she felt bad for 'sitting' her dear friend. How would she explain this? Once again her thoughts were interrupted and she began to think about how annoying such a thing was until she heard who exactly it was who interrupted her.

"Kagome, shall we go?"

Without sending her friends an explanation she turned, sliding her arms behind her back nervously and walked off into the darkness of the woods with Sesshoumaru to her side, leaving all her friends, including Inuyasha, confused beyond their wit's end.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

The two new lovers had soon arrived at a small clearing in the woods, but the tension between still failed to settle down. A certain you miko's eyes continued to flash to her right then left, unsure of what to say or what was going to be said. She was soon snapped out of her thoughts for the uncountable time that day by the one man she was falling in love with.

"You could have been killed."

His mono-tone voice never failed to amuse her as she turned her head towards him. "Yes, and I thank you for seeing that I didn't."

"Do not thank me."

"But if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here right now. For Inuyasha and my other friends were well out of reach. I would have surely been struck down my Kagura's attack."

A long silence fell over the two, one that you think you would suffocate from before the mighty demon lord continued. "My brother is not the one who should be protecting you."

Now it was Kagome's turn to pause. Her chocolate eyes lifted to his and the two slowly came to a stop underneath a rather large cherry blossom tree. "What are you saying?"

He looked at her as if wondering why she would ask such an obvious question, but that cute look of puzzlement was soon replaced by his pale expression once more. "It's obvious. I should be the one protecting you."

The woman before him watched silently as petals from the tree silently drifted down around the couple, her hearts beat taking on a heavier rhythm and her breath growing short. Was the stoic man before her proposing that he wished to watch over her instead of her comrades? "Sesshoumaru…"

"Yes?"

Her petit hand left her side as it slowly glided through the night's air, landing gently on his cheek as her fingers absentmindedly ran down his jaw bone. "Do you wish to protect me?"

Another silence fell over them at the thought and the mighty demon lord knew that was what he really wanted, but he didn't quite know why. He wasn't one to lie though and so he spoke the truth. "Yes."

Before he could proclaim his reason for wanting to she had pushed up on her tip toes and closed the small gap between them as she devoured him in an innocent kiss. The corner of his lips curled up at her unique taste and smell which were at their high that moment before deepening the kiss and sliding his strong arms around her small waist.

The night continued on with drab conversations and small innocent kisses, but not nearly as heated as the night before. Neither truly knew why they were doing this. One followed her heart while the other followed nothing…

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Author's Note:** Well Chapter 23 is up now. I finally got around to it. Sorry if it seems I'm neglecting this story because it's on my first to do list, but I also have two other active stories going on right now and I don't want to neglect them either, so I'm trying to juggle them. Well I hope you guys liked it and remember reviews help. Don't forget the poll.

**What's To Come: **Once again more questions rise into the heads of the Inuyasha gang about Kagome and Sesshoumaru, but how will Inuyasha take it these days? Better yet, what will Kagome do about how Inuyasha takes it? Will their friendship be ruined forever or will Kikyou help mend our favorite hanyou's heart? Who knows!

**Vocabulary:  
**Hanyou - A half demon.  
Inuyoukai - Dog demon.  
Kitsune – A young fox demon.  
Miko - A human, normally female, who has unusual spiritual powers.  
Monk - A holy being.  
Youkai – A full demon.

**Reviewer Responses:  
**hermonine – I know! I couldn't go without bringing in everyone's favorite wolf prince, right? And don't worry, Sesshoumaru and Kagome with get together. There is a 99.9999 chance! Lol.  
MaryTwain – Lemon eh? Lol. You're sick? If it's like coughing or feeling nasty sick I'm really sorry and I hope you get better soon! And I'm so happy I'm on all your alerts! Thank you so much that makes me feel so good!  
Ladyofthewest15 – Glad you liked the chapter and here is a pinch of fluff for the Lady of the west! Lol.  
Clouds of the Sky – I'm glad you don't care either way. That's one less person I don't have to worry about 'insulting' with a lemon and thus one less flame. Lol. And yes, the brothers are extremely sexy!  
Tris Riddle – You have the right concept and I'll probably do that which will probably be a light lemon since we all know they are going to stay together. Lol. Thanks for answering!  
Kmkoolj2010 – I updated! Lol.  
Ms Lioness – Don't worry, I won't let you down. . And yes, it will be a Kagome x Sesshoumaru fic, but I just can't leave Inuyasha out of this thing so it will be sort of like a 'love triangle' for a while so Inuyasha can't vent his feelings. Poor guy. Lol.

_REMEMBER THE POLL! _Lol…

**Current Poll: **Answer the question below and get a link to your site and/or profile page on my profile page! n.n  
**1. **Go to my profile page and look at my 'Helping Hands' section just above my stories. If you've answered a poll in the past and your name is not up there please put helping hand at the beginning of your review. This way I can catch everybody up. It also counts if this is the first poll you've answered just by putting helping hand in the beginning of your review. Thanks!


	24. So Many Past Memories

**Author's Note: **I haven't updated this story for over a week and I am so sorry for not doing so. I know exactly how I want to end this, but I can't quite get to the point. However I am excited to finish this story off and start a sequel, knowing it will be twice as good as this one since my writing has improved. I hope everyone will continue to read the sequel, you all are wonderful reviewers. Remember the text in **_bold and italics_** are flash backs. So here we go.

**Disclaimer:** Geezzz… Do you have to rub it in? Lol.

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**Changes During Time  
****So Many Past Memories**

The last two weeks of a certain miko's life had been very eventful mixed with mild stress, for all her friends but one seemed to accept the news she had to offer very well, especially the silver-haired hanyou.

_**Darkness etched into the sky long before hand when Kagome appeared back at the palace of where their group was to stay. When she arrived she discovered from her friends that Kagura wasn't the demon who was plaguing the lord and his land, and so, in the end, they group had decided it would be best to stay until the demon was rid of. After all, the hot meals and soft cots weren't exactly a bother.**_

_**Once everyone had agreed to do so, the five of them filed into the room they were currently residing at. An uncomfortable silence crowded the room, only for it to be broken by the one and only liberal monk. "Kagome how was your evening walk?"**_

_**  
This caused all eyes in the room to shift to her. Her gaze, however, went to the floor, unable to meet that of her friend's. "It was nice."**_

"_**Nice?" Oh how she hated Miroku for being so persistent at such a time.**_

"_**Yes. We walked for a little bit then stopped and talked."**_

"_**Is that all?" Curiosity struck the monk's voice, for her knew he was also speaking the others' thoughts as well.**_

_**Her small fingers began twirling the fabric of her jeans as she sat there, her eyes still glued to the wooden floors as she silently cried out for some means of escape from the embarrassment.**_

_**This time Sango intervened. "Kagome if you don't want to tell us, you don't have to."**_

**_At the sound of her friend's voice and proclaim she nodded hesitantly. "Thank you Sango." But her escape from embarrassment was soon snatched away from her by the ruffling of clothing and the scarping of bare feet against wooden floors as Inuyasha stood from his place and left the others to their own conversation. Her eyes shifted up, silently she wished she could run after him, but after a small dispute with her inner self, she found he was not the one she was to run after in times of need._**

"_**Kagome?" Sango's voice interrupted once more.**_

_**Said miko's chocolate gaze shifted to her remaining friends. Shippou was curled up beside Kirara in a small corner off to her left, leaving her with Miroku and Sango. Tears began to flood her eyes. "I don't want to hurt him." Her sobs choked out unknowingly and she looked up with surprise in the depths of her eyes.**_

_**The demon slayer slid her arm around her shoulder, welcoming her comfort to her friend, who took it willingly, but it was Miroku who spoke. "You can not deny the call of your heart." His voice sounded so sincere. "For such a thing would be foolish."**_

_**The three nodded as one, knowing he spoke the truth and if she did it would only mean heartbreak for more than one. "But I do love him. I love Inuyasha dearly, but not as I love Sesshoumaru…"**_

_**Silence fogged the room once more before the young miko burst out into a small fit of sobs, leaning into her friend even more for comfort. All the while, a certain hanyou over-heard their entire conversation and sat in deep thought just yards outside of the door.**_

Kagome's eyes shifted to the fire which was lit between the three of them. Ever since that night over a week ago, Inuyasha had refused to sleep near the group and normally left, only to come back in the earl mornings or sleep in a tree a few yards away.

How could she have been so stupid? Of course Inuyasha could have heard her when she confessed her feelings for the two most important men in her life, but the pain was unbearable and in the end she had to let it out. Then her thoughts shifted to the elder brother and a specific night the two shared while the group was still at the palace.

_**A sturdy hand tangled itself in a messy of raven tresses while the demon lord devoured the miko in another kiss. He would pull back slightly, but only to nip at her lip before pulling closer and once again tasting her to her whole. **_

**_Ever since her rescue four days ago, their walk had become a routine. It would always end the same way. She would leave with butterflies in her stomach, secretly wondering if he felt the same way, all the while he did but would never admit it. This time, however, would be different._**

_**Once the kiss began to grow passionate, the demon lord pulled back once more. Kagome found herself leaning forward, expecting him to come back as he normally did, but whimpered slightly when the soft touch of his lips were no where to be found. She then opened her eyes and once more, just as many times before, chocolate orbs melted at the site of amber. "Sesshoumaru." His name fell from her lips in a sense of yearning as if just saying his name would please her desires, but sadly, that was not so.**_

_**He straightened his back once more, taking on his regal stature, for if someone were to find him like this it would surely be his demise. "Kagome." His tone, however, was a totally different note, and it even sounded as if he were beginning to talk business with a fellow lord, but instead of leaving her to question as he normally did, he continued. "We need to talk."**_

**_This received a nod and the two simultaneously sat down at the base of an over-grown tree trunk which had lived well pass its years. At first the seating arrangement was uncomfortable, for he took up quite a bit of room though he didn't realize it and Kagome was forced to bend her knees up. Her bangs hung loosely over her eyes, slightly curtaining them from his view while her chin was dug into her knees with her arms wrapped tightly around her legs to keep them in place. The demon lord found this position quite cute and the corner of his lips began to curl up. He didn't allow such a site to be seen for long and quickly turned back to his stoic expression and continued. "I need to ask you some things."_**

"_**Like what?" Her curiosity peeked as she sat up straight, pulling her chin from her knees.**_

"_**Do you know how demons go about relationships?"**_

_**Her eyes shifted from his down to his collar bone as she began to think. When it all came down to it, she hadn't the slightest clue which made her feel slightly embarrassed and a tint of crimson flushed over her cheeks. "No, I don't."**_

"_**I see." He hadn't expected anything more from her, after all she was a human and not even from his time, which put a damper on things. "When a male demon finds the woman he wishes to be with, he marks her as his."**_

"_**What do you mean?"**_

"_**The male demon bites the woman's neck and leaves his mark on her. That mark stays there for eternity and shows other men that she is taken and off the market."**_

_**The thought of how Sesshoumaru was talking to her made her want to giggle, but at the seriousness on his face, she stifled the laughter and nodded at him so he would continue.**_

"_**I don't believe you understand. When a male marks a woman, she becomes his forever."**_

"_**Like marriage?"**_

"_**It's nothing like the marriage you foolish humans celebrate." His tone was harsh at first but he quickly calmed it, knowing how confusing it must truly be to her. "The difference is you can get out of a marriage, but what we do, which is called mating, is permanent and can not be undone. Thus, it's a very serious thing."**_

"_**I see…" Her eyes trailed back up to meet his. "But if the two are together forever, what happens if a male demon mates with a human woman? Won't the woman die before her 'mate'?"**_

_**His amber orbs flickered with relief at the thought that she was catching on to his explanation quickly; however, it didn't surprise him. After all, Kagome was a bright girl, which was one of the many reasons why she had intrigued him so many times before. "No. If a male demon marks a human woman then the woman gains the demon's life span. This is another reason why it is so serious."**_

_**Her head bobbed slightly, informing him she understood, but her eyes quickly dulled at a lingering thought. "And what of a… miko human woman."**_

_**Sesshoumaru began to realize what she was getting to, after all, it was obvious she was clearly a miko, her purified arrows were proof enough of that, but she could also sense the jewel shards and purify them as well. "I don't know."**_

_**She nodded slightly once more, understanding what he was saying. "Would the demon aura of the demon kill the miko or will the purified aura of the miko kill the demon?" Said woman looked at him questioning.**_

"_**That is something I can't answer, for I have never heard of it happening before."**_

_**A heavy sigh fell from Kagome's lips at the thought. After all this time and trouble plus the hurt behind their relationship, how could it all fall to pieces over a simple thing such as mating? But once she thought more into it, it truly wasn't a simple thing. "I see. So are you saying you don't wish to be with me?"**_

_**He shook his head almost immidately, looking slightly like his younger half-brother in his frantic attempt to assure her she was falsely assuming what he was thinking. "No. Being with you is something I don't wish to get rid of." This brought a smile to the miko's face. "But I was wondering if you were willing to take the risk if things were to…"**_

_**His sentence was cut off by her complete his exact thoughts. "… get serious between us?" Another smile played across her lips. "I wouldn't have it any other way." Miroku was right, following her heart was truly the right thing to do, but would it cause her a painful death in the end? This was just something she would have to find out in time.**_

The miko who was lost in thought smiled inwardly at the thought of the rest of the memory, remembering exactly how he held her that night and reassured her nothing bad would happen to her if it were up to him and how he would protect her with all he was worth. In the end, the great demon lord showed a side of him not many had seen.

This caused her thoughts to shift to a silver-haired man, who was currently absent from the group at the current wee hour of the morning. "Inuyasha…" Her memories trailed off yet again.

_**A sickening thud played across the entire grounds of the palace as one of the guards was thrust through the wall of the room the small group was occupying. The even immidately caused everyone to stir and before anyone had time to think, their usual positions were taken, but this time, Inuyasha had went off on his own, leaving Kagome to run behind him while Miroku, Shippou, and Sango all rode their trust cat-demon. **_

_**Just as they all approached the side of the palace, which seemed to be where the disturbance was from, chocolate eyes widened in horror at the site. A panda, seeming to be as big as the palace itself, stood between them and the entrance. It's black and white coat of fur was splattered with dirt and blood where the guards, who were now sprawled out on the ground and thrown in random directions, had done their best to subdue the beast. Giant fangs fell forth from its upper jaw and hung over it's lower lip while it's eyes were a penetrating red. All it took for the fight to start was a loud roar from the panda youkai and its bounding leap towards the group.**_

**_The group instantly scattered, Kirara took to the sky, while Kagome had flung herself across the yard, barely being missed by the youkai's large clawed feet as the plunged into the earth below. Inuyasha, on the other hand, had escaped the beast easily then began his assault which included the famous Wind Scar. The youkai dodged it accidentally which annoyed the hanyou to no extent and this continued on for a good fifteen minutes or so by the miko's calculations._**

**_In the end of it all, Kagome had once again been secluded from her friend's by their enemy. How ironic was the fortunate event for she knew Sesshoumaru had left to check on Rin and Jakken? Just as the beast was about to swipe her life away by it's gigantic black paw, a loud battle cry was heard from behind as Inuyasha let forth another Wind Scar. Just as the attack was released he landed behind the panda, swept Kagome into his arms and briskly leapt from their place, narrowly missing his own attack._**

_**The two landed roughly on the ground with Inuyasha on the bottom, who took the brunt of the fall, with the raven haired miko landing on top of him. Her hair sprawled out around them, curtaining them from the outside world while heavy breaths from each other intertwined then played across their faces.**_

_**At first, the hanyou couldn't get enough of her unique sent, but quickly he realized their situation and began to franticly scurry in order to get out of the position before a certain perverted monk saw them in such a state. But his attempts were in vain as Kagome flatted out, locking her legs around his waist and taking a firm hold on his shoulders without moving her face. "Inuyasha." His name slid from her lips so easily it was clear they had been close in situations before.**_

"_**Hn?" was all the man below her could reply.**_

_**She then continued. "Listen. I know you're mad and maybe even hurt. I just wanted to let you know I'm sorry. I didn't realize your feelings until it was too late. My heart took its own path. I'm sorry… Inuyasha, I'm so sorry…"**_

Oh what an awkward moment that was when their friends approached them, curiosity on all faces except Miroku's who had a face plastered with perverted thoughts. She inwardly smirked at the thought as she laid back into her sleeping bag, welcoming the comfort of it's warmth from the brisk night air. How had she gotten into such a mess in the first place?

When she thought about it long enough, she found it all fell back on Inuyasha and her feelings she had for him. If one were to ask her three weeks ago her true opinion on the man she loved, she would have flat out told them he was a brave man with beautiful silver hair, golden amber eyes, and a hot temper to boot. But now, that same man she just described had become her dearest friend while a new man had taken that place in her heart. One who was all of the above but the last, to which he was cool and calm.

The raven haired woman snuggled into her sleeping bag and closed her eyes. The land of slumber swept over her mere hours before the morning's sun would rise and a new path would be set for her, one even she hadn't expected.

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**Author's Note:** Yes! I've finally gotten Chapter 24 up and am so happy. Sorry it's a bit short, but it's mainly flash backs so I could sum a lot of things up. Hope I didn't confuse any of you on this, but I figured it would be cool to have Kagome look back on all that had happened. Well I know exactly how I want this story to end before I start the sequel and by my estimated calculations it should take one to three more chapters. Lol. Hope that's okay.

**What's To Come: **Poor Kagome has fallen in love with yet another man who could cause her so much pain, but in the end she has decided not to back down, despite the risks of mating with a full youkai while she is a simple miko. What will happen with their powers combine and Kagome's aura is put into over-drive?

**Vocabulary:  
**Hanyou - A half demon.  
Inuyoukai - Dog demon.  
Kitsune – A young fox demon.  
Miko - A human, normally female, who has unusual spiritual powers.  
Monk - A holy being.  
Youkai – A full demon.

**Reviewer Responses:  
**Sesshou's Bynx/S.Wooz – I understand and in all truthfulness, I'm not big on writing lemons because I think it takes away the true passion of making-love, however I think I'll add a few details of foreplay then imply it took place. People will just have to use their imaginations. Lol. And yes! I'm extremely luck to have you! You rock my socks!  
sarah – See, that is the whole point of leaving you guys hanging. Lol. And this chapter isn't exactly going to answer your questions. Sorry, but most likely. If you read my Author's Notes you'd realize this. Lol.  
AnimusPatronus – Thank you for thanking me for thanking you. Lol.  
Ladyofthewest15 – Thanks and I'm sorry for not updating sooner. '  
hermonine – I'm so glad you liked it and the story is almost done, but don't worry! There will be a sequel! Lol.  
MartyTwain – More it is! Lol.  
Clouds of the Sky – I updated! XD  
moonscout11 – Excellent is always good! Thanks so much. Lol.  
Lady Lenn – Sesshoumaru is one of the coolest guys ever! Lol. And yes, he saved her cause he loves her deep down, which you will find out in the next chapter. Lol.  
Sesshoumaru's Miko – I said profile page, which is where all my stories are and there is a link of my username at the top of each chapter. Lol. Don't worry though cause you're on there. Lol.


	25. Tell Me You Love Me

**Author's Note: **I'm sorry, but yet happy; to say this story is slowly winding down and it will most likely be finished within the next two chapters. u.u

**Disclaimer:** Sadly I don't, but I own many Inuyasha products and am a huge fan!

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**Changes During Time  
****Tell Me You Love Me**

Light from the morning sun failed to wake a certain hanyou's sleeping comrades, and so he immidately took it upon himself to do the task personally by slamming his right bare foot into the ground and shouting almost at the top of his lungs. "Wake up you idiots!" He then watched with satisfaction as the entire group quickly stirred, all tripping and stumbling to their feet.

Their search continued as usual, except for one thing that the small group had grown accustomed to; Kagome was not riding on Inuyasha's back. Instead she rode atop Kirara with her best friend and Shippou while Miroku agreed to tread on foot for as long as he could.

The day came and went without a second thought or any sign of another jewel shard. The small group was approaching a familiar village which they had liked to call home, for Kaede's hut is where they normally stayed. If it had been any further away, the six of them would have stopped and rested, perhaps even set up camp, but it was apparent that Inuyasha had no intentions of stopping and seeing the village so close gave the others hope, especially an exhausted Miroku down below.

Just as the nights before, once the group was settled in, the taiyoukai would emerge from out of no where and take Kagome on an evening walk; at times they wouldn't get back until early morning, causing Inuyasha to furrow his brow with annoyance, and tonight was no different.

Kagome, Shippou, and Sango were gathered in the elderly woman's hut, their concentration planted directly on the fire, for the young kitsune was growing tired and the miko was afraid to speak of anything personal to her friend, unsure that Inuyasha might be lurking outside the hut door and who knew what the houshi had in mind. Their silence was broken immidately as Kaede wobbled into the room, looking quite pleased.

The miko smiled and bowed her head at her elder, remembering the encouraging words the woman had said once she found her piercings were now missing and she had changed her clothing, though she had to admit, after having such holes in your body for so long, it felt strange without them. "Lord Sesshoumaru has requested you outside Kagome."

The woman nodded as she stood up, sending Sango a small smile of farewell for the night before moving towards the door and emerging into the brisk night air, only to find a stare off between two certain brothers. It flustered her completely to think Inuyasha was still so overly protective of her when it was him who caused her heart to sink then change in the first place. But as she approached the two, something strange happened. Inuyasha sent his friend an apologetic look and quickly took her small wrist in his firm grasp, twirling her around and pulling her off to the side. Once the two were a good distance away from his brother, enough to where he could whisper without being heard, he grasped the upper part of Kagome's arms, being careful not to hurt her, and shook her slightly as if trying to knock sense back into her. "Listen Kagome," He all but pleaded in his frail whisper. "I love you. I love you with all my heart's content and until now I never realized it. I never realized what I would be loosing if you fell in love with another man." His whispers grew more frantic with each word as his eyes sunk into shallow pools Kagome had a hard time recognizing. "I love you… please… please don't leave me." And in one fluid motion, the hanyou had jerked her forwards into a tight embrace, squeezing her to where she could hardly breathe, but she didn't protest, for she knew it was out of his affection towards her.

Though she had to admit that it felt nice to finally be hugged by the man who went out of his way to ignore her for the last week or so, but it all had to end, for her lover and potential mate was waiting for her, looking quite irritated at the moment in the first place. With a gentle touch, she placed her hands on Inuyasha's shoulders, pushing him back slightly in order to end their precious moment, but her soft hands glided up to touch the smooth surface of his cheeks before she ran her fingers through the hair on each side of his head. "I love you too Inuyasha." The hanyou's first instinct was to jump for joy, but the solemn of her voice caused him to stay plastered to the ground and just as he regretted, there was more to her comment. "But it is too late for us. You will always be my dear friend." She tilted his head with slight pressure from her hands and placed a chaste kiss on the top of his forehead. His arms went slack and she slid through his fingers for the last time.

The odd couple then took their leave, leaving behind a broken hearted hanyou, two devastated friends, and a boy who claimed the miko as his mother, all of which who were still quite confused with Kagome's latest decision.

Their walk had slowed to a gentle pace, for Sesshoumaru took slightly shorter steps in order for the woman to keep up with him without running out of breath. Once again silence had bestowed upon them, sending a chill down the miko's back before her lover began to speak. "Is it true? Do I possess a different kind of love from you than my brother?"

A smile graced her lips at his question. Was he asking out of fear for not owning her heart or just plain curiosity? Before she answered a light sigh heaved from her chest. "Yes, you do. I just wish Inuyasha could realize and come to terms with that without getting hurt."

Silence once again fell between them; the woman had given up on trying to start conversation, for she knew the demon lord was not one to talk too often and accepted that delightfully because even she desired silence now and then. Eventually their slow footsteps guided them to a secluded area which Kagome had never seen before in her entire time in the feudal era. It literally shocked her that she hadn't, after all, it didn't seem like they had traveled too far out from Kaede's village and she surely thought she knew the grounds around this territory well, but after all, she had been gone for at least six months before returning here due to the forceful Inuyasha. "What is this?"

Beautiful vines fell before the cave's entrance and at first glance, one would think it was just a wall of brick, but the lord proved otherwise as he lifted his hand and shifted the shrubbery out of the way, taking his hand and placing it on the small of her back to glide her into the cave. Once they arrived and the vines fell back to their rightful places, all went black to the woman's vision causing her to turn frantic for a moment, before a rough hand placed itself on her shoulder. "Do not be frightened, light will be up ahead." She nodded, though she wasn't sure he could see her, and then followed his lead through the cave.

After tripping and stumbling quite a few times, only to end up in the arms of her lover before hitting the hard floor of the cave, a small light finally emitted from the end and Kagome inwardly chuckled at the saying 'the light at the end of the tunnel', for now she knew how it felt to finally reach your destination through the dark and mysterious. Once they emerged into the light, her chocolate eyes looked around in awe at the beautiful scenery. Apparently the hidden cave was a short cut to a secluded place on the surface of the middle of a mountain, meaning they were further from the village than she thought, but such thoughts didn't plague her at the moment. A small stream trailed down the slightly sloped mountain side, running into a small river across the flat patch of ground they were currently walking on. The flatness of the ground seemed to extend for nearly a half a mile, leaving the size of the actual mountain up to the miko's imagination, but before she had time to think, her attention was pulled elsewhere at the sound of chirping birds. Where ever the stream wasn't flowing there was either grass or shrubbery, which were both scattered about with cherry blossoms that had fallen from the random blossom trees surrounding the perimeter. "Wow." was the perfect way to describe the place she had been led to. "It's beautiful…"

Once again a strong hand cupped the small of her back, leading her over to the river that ran so calmly through this part of the mountain. The water itself looked especially beautiful as the moon's light reflected off of its surface, only causing the two lovers' reflections in the water to look that much more beautiful. There Kagome stood, in a pair of blue jeans and a sweater, her haired pulled back into a loose bun of wavy curls, beside a demon lord who seemed so threatening that only a few other youkai's would stand up to him. How did she end up in this situation? How did she come to love such a man? Her mind had no room for thoughts as she watched the youkai beside her lift his hand up and undo the piece of ribbon that held her hair up, allowing her raven tresses to fall down in loose curls around her face before tucking a few stray strands of hair behind her ear, this way he could see the pure beauty in her brown eyes through the water. "Sesshoumaru…"

He smiled for a mere second, just enough for her to get a glimpse as she whirled around to face him before going back to his famous blank expression. In one fluid motion he had knelt down as she simultaneously pushed up onto to tips of her toes, causing their lips to meet briefly. She was about to sit herself back down on her heals when the lord's arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her up and even tighter into the kiss. Oh how she missed the passion of his kisses and how he missed the taste of her innocence. Without saying a word, the great youkai lord, pulled from the passionate kiss and began making a trail of pecks from the corner of her mouth, across her cheek, and down her neck until finally stopping on her collar bone. There he began to nip at the skin, receiving small groans of satisfaction from the miko, who currently had her arms wrapped tightly around his midriff with her neck tilted to the side, granting him easier access. If the lord wished to, he could have marked her at that moment, but never would he take a woman's innocence without her consent and so continued his foreplay with silly kisses up and down her neck, back to her lips, then to her ear, nibbling on the lobe slightly.

His actions sent chills from the heavens down Kagome's back, causing her to shiver and the young lord to stop. He pulled back slightly, concerned for her well being though he truly wouldn't admit it, and gave her a questioning glance. A faint blush fell over her nose and cheeks, showing it was an absentminded action she didn't mean to do before she shoved her face into the chest of his silky kimono, wrapping her hands in the same material and pulling herself closer to him, if that were possible. Little did she know she almost collided with the silver-haired man's jagged armor on his left shoulder. Without wanting to startle her, he slowly reached up and detached said piece of clothing before dropping it on the ground beside them. Her face pulled out from his clothing and her right hand ran up his shoulder, touching a part of his body not many had seen without his famous armor made of bone. It pleased her to think he felt comfortable enough around her to rid himself of it, causing a smile to spread across her face.

Following his lead from before, Kagome pushed herself up once more, connecting her lips to the soft exposed skin of his neck, placing chaste kisses in random places up and down the part of the body and the great lord himself had to force back chills from running down his spine. How did this woman manage to get to him? Why did she have to intrigue him so? It was all still a mystery, yet he couldn't deny what his heart wanted, and that was for her to be his.

A clawed hand touched her thin stomach before slipping under the soft material of her shirt, and sliding around her side to end up on her bare back. The warmth of her skin caused him to feel welcome enough and he soon found the fingers on his other hand swimming through the raven tresses she called hair as he pulled her in for another forceful kiss. As she released the kiss and went to sit back down on her heals, she landed on a rise in the ground and began to tumble backwards, but somehow her lover managed to catch her in mid-fall and made the embarrassing moment turn into that of a passionate connection as he gently laid her down on her back in the soft grass below. Her breath hitched in her throat until she met the solid earth below without a hard collision before an extremely bright shade of red graced her face, causing another smile to tug at the corner of the lord's lips. She truly was beautiful when she was embarrassed. Hell, the woman before him was beautiful no matter how she looked, it was just natural for her.

Her chocolate eyes immidately left the being before her, finding a rock that suddenly became quite interesting to her in order for her to over come her embarrassment, but she was pulled back when a cold hand touched the bare skin of her stomach as Sesshoumaru ran his hand under her shirt, gently pulling the article of clothing off of her and tossing it to the side above her head. If possible she turned an even deeper shade of red, for never before had she willingly showed herself to a man in such a state. His face approached her slowly, his lips stopping mere centimeters from her left ear. "Do not be frightened." The huskiness of his voice combined with the breath on her lobe immidately made her relax and she became putty in his arms.

Sesshoumaru's nose picked up the scent of desire pulsing from her figure and though he too willed the thought as much as she did, he sustained himself, not wanting to push the woman and have her leave him in the end, heart broken and lonely. No, he would have nothing of the sort and would never leave her in the care of his dim-witted half-brother again. He was then torn from his thoughts as she placed her hand upon his chest, her fingers slowly inching themselves into the opening slip in the kimono. Finally skin met skin and she awed at the shape of his body. Not only did he look good, but he felt just as nice, causing her to burn with more desire then she had before. Her hands began to fumble as she slid them down to his obi, untying the knot and sliding the piece of fabric away from them, tossing it slightly to the side as he did her shirt.

Their actions were slow and they each basked in each other's glorified beauty, taking in the site and embedding it into their memory, for deep down, they both knew the risk they were taking if they continued. The question was, was one of their lives worth the love they had grown with over the weeks? Despite the fact that they knew the risk, they continued, eventually resulting in a bare-chested Sesshoumaru and a miko in merely her undergarments. The youkai lord held a dignified look as he hovered over the young woman, who still blushed furiously with her innocence, not fully knowing how to go about such a procedure as making love for she had been reacting out of instinct and following his lead for the time being.

Eventually the rest of their clothing was shed, leaving a pool of fabric around the couple as he began placing kisses in more places on her body than her neck. She hugged to him, pushing her body forward out of instinct. The night continued on with the full moon hovering high above the pair. Their bodies rocked in unison as the great youkai lord stole the miko's innocence with her permission.

The wee hours of the morning were approaching them, though night still hadn't fallen, as Sesshoumaru pushed himself up off of her frail form, fully satisfied with the beautiful woman lying beneath him. Her eyes were closed, for she had drifted off to sleep shortly after, surely exhausted from the mixed emotions and adrenaline from the night and so he aloud her to sleep, merely taking his clawed finger and trailing it up and down her jaw line, admiring her beauty in silence. Though they had shared a beautiful art that night, she still wasn't truly his, for a place on her neck seemed awfully bare to the lord. He teased the spot at her collar bone, tickling it slightly with his claw. This action caused a smile to spread from ear to ear as she stirred and eventually woke up, her eyes opened to the most beautiful creature she had ever seen. She groaned affectionately at his touch, for now she knew how it felt to truly loved and be loved physically in return. Though, curiosity struck her mind and she slowly pushed herself up onto bare elbows, staring diligently at him. "You didn't mark me?"

"No." The tickling of her collar bone had ceased. "I did not wish to put your life at risk, for you will surely be the one who struggles. You are pure… and I am not."

A frantic look crossed her facial features at the thought, but something else seemed to bother her. "Then I am not truly yours?"

"No, not until you are marked, though I truly wish to do so."

"I love you, so do as you and I both wish."

Surprise flashed through amber orbs at the thought of marking the beautiful creature before him. Had she just given him consent to leave his mark on her flawless body? Allowing a tainted heart as his to merge his blood with hers without knowing the true risk? His thoughts were immidately ruptured at her voice once more.

"Just tell me one thing."

"Hn?"

"Tell me you love me." A pleading look crossed over her face as she straightened her back. Chocolate brown met golden amber and immidately the two knew they were in love. The feeling of desire and needing arose within both their chests, causing the miko's breath to hitch, but the lord hid it well.

He nodded. "I love you." And with that she tilted her head to the left, allowing him access to its side and the tender flesh that resided there. He gently knelt down, baring extremely white and sharp fangs that easily punctured into her skin. Blood fell from the wounds at contact and Kagome's body immidately tensed. At that moment, her whole world was brought together as her love licked her neck dry of the fresh blood and it seemed all had gone well. But as the youkai lord was about to pull back, her perfect world came crashing down around her. Her petit hand shot up, grabbing her head in a rough and tight grip, desperate to stop the spinning of her vision which had taken over her sight. A moan of agony and pain slipped from her lips as blackness began to seep into her line of vision. "I don't… feel so… good." Sesshoumaru immidately brought his hand to the back of her head, catching it as she fell limp in his arms. Deep within he knew her body was fighting an internal battle, not wanting to accept his demon blood into her pure heart and he secretly hoped she would win in the end. But no time could be lost and he frantically scrambled up and swept her into his arms bridal style, being sure to keep her head steady to his chest. He then took to the skies and made his way to the old priestess's village, knowing if anyone could help his lover and mate it would be her and her friends. Hopefully he wouldn't be too late…

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**Author's Note:** NO! This is _not_ the final chapter. I'm not _that_ evil, but I am evil enough to leave you hanging until I get the next chapter up, which _will_ be the finale chapter with a conclusion you guys might and might not love. It all depends. Well I hope I didn't get too graphic for some of you while still pleasing others with a few details. I tried to keep class to it without getting pornographic, for that would ruin the art of love making the two shared, which I actually suggested and did not describe. I merely described the foreplay. Well I hope you guys aren't mad about the cliff hanger. runs and hides ;

**What's To Come: **It seems our brave miko has decided to take the chance and mate with her lover, but all did not go as planned and her body soon gave out on her, leaving an unusual frantic Sesshoumaru on a mission to get her help from none other than Kaede and the others. Will Kagome survive this cruel twist of fate to live another day with her new mate? And what will Inuyasha do once he finds his beloved in such a state? Oh the evilness!

**Vocabulary:  
**Hanyou - A half demon.  
Houshi – A Monk.  
Inuyoukai - Dog demon.  
Kitsune – A young fox demon.  
Miko - A human, normally female, who has unusual spiritual powers.  
Monk - A holy being.  
Youkai – A full demon.

**Reviewer Responses:  
**Tris Riddle – Great! I'm so glad you'll read the sequel, which will be starting here shortly. Glad you liked it.  
Clouds of the Sky – Great! Well I hope I didn't disappoint you with anything. XD  
Sesshoumaru's Miko – Yeah, I'm sure a lot of people were wondering about what I was going to do about that after that pole. Lol. But this is what happened. And yes, poor Inuyasha. I do feel sorry for him, but that's how the cookie crumbles and if he could have gotten over Kikyou and realized his feelings before hand, it could have been him with Kagome in that beautiful secluded place. -- Lol.  
Illidan the Half Demon – Great! I hope you'll also take a liking to the sequel I'll be starting soon. If you want to know more about it check out my profile page. Thanks for the compliments.  
hermonine – Thanks and I did!  
Kogasgirl142 – Awesome! I'm so glad you think it rocks! But… does it rock your socks! XD  
Lady Lenn – Yeah, I've been dumping on Inuyasha pretty badly in this fic, but maybe I'll cut him some slack in the sequel. The original plan was for Sesshoumaru and Kagome to end up together so that's what happened. Lol.  
Sapphire Birthstone – She definitely took the risk. Poor Kagome…


	26. An Internal Battle

**Author's Note: **Sadly, but surely, this is the last chapter of Changes During Time and in the writing below you will find out exactly what happens to Kagome, which brother will be the chosen one, and how the other takes rejection. It's all winding down now and soon, 'Changes During Time' will be no more…

**Disclaimer:** Owning Inuyasha would be the coolest thing in the world, but I guess I'll have to settle for writing fan fictions about this awesome anime!

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**Changes During Time  
****An Internal Battle**

The light from the waxing moon reflected gently off the silver hair of the famous hanyou as golden orbs stared out into the forest in an empty gaze. Just hours ago the love of his life had left him for his elder brother, leaving him confused and bewildered with these new feelings that had risen in his chest. His friends had left him be which is what he wanted, and retreated back to Kaede's hut that was resting a few yards behind him.

Inuyasha would have continued to stare into nothingness if he could, but fate wouldn't let him be, for his sensitive canine nose caught a sudden weft of an odd mix of scents. At first it smelled of sun-kissed apples combined with fresh spring water, but that pure smell he loved so much was being dominated by that of his own blood, Sesshoumaru, combined with fear and urgency. This jerked the hanyou to his feet immidately, just in time for another silver-haired being to appear in the sky and quickly land before his half-brother. Two sets of amber orbs stared at each other diligently until one pair pulled away, only to glance at a limp form in protective arms. "You bastard!" Inuyasha's rough voice rang through the once peaceful setting, causing his friends to stir from the hut and appear behind him.

Sango gasped in fear as the mighty demon lord stepped forward. Her friend's face was buried into Sesshoumaru's bare chest and what would have been visible of her cheek was covered by raven tresses of hair. It was truly a site to behold. The great lord of the western lands stood nude before the entire group, exposing his world for all to see, with an unclothed Kagome clutched tightly in his arms. One would have found it humorous if it weren't for the tension of fear fogging up the air.

"Priestess Kaede," The taiyoukai finally spoke. "Aid her." His tone was as melancholy as ever despite the way his eyes betrayed his words. Everyone could tell the mighty being before them was truly at his wits end, fearing the loss of the woman in his arms and so the elderly woman nodded and pulled back the doorway to the hut. He approached them with long strides and ducked slightly to enter the room, only to stand at his full height once more before kneeling down and placing the miko on a straw mat.

Just as the woman was laid on the ground, her friends entered, Inuyasha being the first one in behind his half-brother. "Damn it Sesshoumaru! What did you do?" His harsh words only received the famous glare of death from his sibling before said man turned his full attention back towards the elderly miko.

Kaede had already begun examining the reincarnation of her sister before the two brothers could finish arguing. Her wilted fingers found their way to the mark on Kagome's neck, grazing across them gently before resting her hand back at her side. "I see. Ye marked young Kagome."

At the priestess's words, Inuyasha's heart sunk. Was it true? Did his half-brother truly mark the woman he had fallen in love with but failed to make his? No, this couldn't be! He had played it out over and over again in his head; how he would take Kagome to a secluded place and confess his true feelings. But his day dreams came shattering down into pieces at her words. It was true. He had failed to confess his feelings soon enough, which he found out earlier that night when she had turned him down, claiming he held a different part of her heart, and then took off with his brother for the evening. Oh, how cruel fate was to him.

Once more the hanyou was drug from his thoughts. "It's true. She insisted we continue with the ritual despite the risk it was to her."

"Aye." Her elderly hands had found their way to a small tray, pulling it forth from a stack of others on the side of the room and bringing it to where Kagome rested on the ground. She began pouring powders of all colors into a small wooden bowl, then crushing them with a rounded spoon. Once the powders were ground together, making a cream colored dust, she poured a small amount of water into the bowl, causing the dust to turn to a pasty cream that stuck to the side of the bowl.

Inuyasha's curiosity struck him as he pushed forward to the woman's side. "What exactly is that, old hag?"

"This, Inuyasha, is what will aid Kagome in recovery."

"So she will be alright?"

"Aye, but in the end, it will be up to her to decide how fast she will recover."

Sesshoumaru turned his gaze away from his lover, gawking at the woman slightly. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying it could take her days to years to recover."

"Years!" Both brothers' voice shouted out in unison, causing a concerned Sango to bust through the entrance of the hut, her trusty weapon in hand. All eyes fell upon the woman at the door who quickly let go of the over-sized boomerang and gave them all a sheepish look before exiting the hut once more.

"Aye." She began applying the paste to the mark on the miko's neck. This action earned a small groan to escape Kagome's parted lips and her brow to furrow, but her eyes failed to open.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Nearly a week had passed by since the strange arrival of Sesshoumaru and Kagome and it was obvious both brother's were at their wit's end with each other, but each refused to leave the young miko's side in fear of something going wrong or worse… to have her wake up and them not be there.

A few days after Kagome had been put at ease, Sango and Miroku volunteered themselves to go in search of the demon lord's clothing, after all, ever since he had arrived he'd been wearing rags for pants with no shirts, and it truly didn't fit his appearance, though he did manage to pull it off quite well.

So now Sesshoumaru sat on one side of the woman, who was still in her nude but covered with a thin wool blanket, while Inuyasha sat, perched on the other side of her, his arms and legs crossed as normal.

The peace of the hut was interrupted with the small noise of rattling mettle as the monk clad in purple stepped into the hut, sending both brothers a cheerful smile. When he turned to sit down beside Inuyasha, this is when both brothers realized the bright red hand print on his right cheek and despite how painful it looked and must have been, he continued to smile, seeming content at the few seconds of pleasure his hand held before he was punished like a child.

"Feh. You stupid pervert."

"Ah, yes, but it is all in good nature."

"There is nothing good natured about groping Sango."

"That, my friend, is where you are wrong. Everything about groping Sango is good natured." He then absentmindedly placed a hand over the red print on his cheek and gazed up at the ceiling of the hut, stars forming in his line of vision as he daydreamed of the past events.

The room fell silent once more.

Oh how the younger brother hated the silence of the room when the tension was thick and fear even thicker. For all knew everyone feared for Kagome's recovery, but yet no one showed their worries aside for the young Shippou and the occasional weeping of the demon slayer.

The gruff hanyou was about to make a statement on his friend's last comment, but was shortly interrupted by the stirring of a certain young woman. All eyes fell upon the figure in the center of the room. Meanwhile, that same young woman was struggling internally with all her life had thrown at her.

"_**Kagome!" A gruff voice filtered through her head as chocolate eyes soared up just in time to see a silver-haired man come bounding towards her with all his might. The sheer thought that he might care for her even slightly caused a broad smile to stretch across her face as she held her arms open to welcome him into her warm embrace. But just as he was about to touch her and that warm sensation was about to rush back to her, a cold chill shot down her spine, causing her to shiver.**_

**_Before anything could be done about her feeling, a black haired woman appeared between the two previous lovers. The woman, who was clad in a priestess's robes with long black hair, turned around, her deep eyes boring into the miko's skull as if she were a pure demon standing before her. Then realization struck the younger girl and her heart stopped as her breath hitched in her throat. The woman was non other than Kikyou._**

_**Kikyou…**_

_**Just the name caused Kagome to look down to the ground in defeat, for she knew Inuyasha would choose no other than his first love and this thought alone caused tears to spring loose from chocolate eyes as she watched the scene fold out before her in horror.**_

_**Inuyasha stopped just short of the elder priestess, his eyes glazing over with pure interest and desire at the mere sight of her and it seemed as though he had completely forgotten about the woman behind his first love. "Kikyou."**_

_**As if his words struck a chord, the woman before him stepped forward, enveloping the young man in a tight, but yet not warm, embrace, burying her face into his chest. His strong arms reached up, wrapping themselves around the woman's small frame and pulling her even closer to his form, for now that he had her again he didn't want to let her go. **_

"_**Inuyasha, tell me that you love me." She tightened her fists, which now held clumps of his white under kimono, as she spoke. "Say you want to be with me forever then come with me and fulfill your desires."**_

"**_Kikyou." His amber orbs stared down at the top of her head disbelievingly and all along a young miko was watching from the sidelines, not purposefully hiding, but was apparently hidden by the past love that fogged the hanyou's eyes. If only he knew how seeing this tore her up inside. Would he still do it?_**

_**The young woman closed her eyes tightly as she flung her arms up, cupping her hands over her ears in order to block out what they were saying as she fell to her knees. "No!" Once her heavy breathing and small rampage had settled down, she pulled her hands away from her ears, slowly dropping her arms back to her side as her eyes found their way up, only to find blackness in every corner.**_

A groan fell from the woman's lips, causing more attention to fall on her. By this time Miroku had gone outside in order to fetch Sango, knowing that her best friend would surely want to be there when she awoke. So now four sets of eyes were glued on the figure, for Shippou was being watched by the elder miko outside seeing as how the rest thought it would be inappropriate for the young boy to see if the woman were to take her last breath.

"Poor Kagome…" The demon slayer brought her slightly trembling fingers up to her bottom lip as she watched on in horror with the rest of the group who were all silently praying for the safe return of their friend.

_**The blackness began to fade away. Yes, finally, it was beginning to disperse into a white light which seemed to fall from the heavens themselves and the miko couldn't help but to look up. Her body seemed drawn to the path and before she could register what was happening her feet were shuffling silently towards said light.**_

**_What could such a thing be? And why was she drawn so strongly to it?_**

**_Her personal thoughts were quickly interrupted by a faint whisper that seemed to echo from the break in the sky. "Come..." The word seemed to stretch out as it hit the woman's ears and she furrowed her brow in confusion as she approached it._**

"_**Come where?"**_

"**_Come with me..." Said whisper grew slightly louder._**

"_**Why?"**_

_**A small pause fell among them before the light whisper began to speak again. "Rid yourself of the pain."**_

"**_The pain?" She stopped just short of the light, her chocolate eyes glazed over with concern and confusion, but just as she was about to ask once more, it hit her. Was this voice speaking of the pain she felt when she saw Inuyasha with Kikyou? Better yet, could it really help her get rid of such a hurtful emotion? "How?"_**

"_**Everything will be revealed…"**_

_**Kagome's small steps started once more and she soon found herself yearning at the thought of never feeling such a pain again, for she couldn't remember a time when she hadn't felt like that, but her steady stride was cut short by a familiar voice.**_

"_**Kagome, come back."**_

Slight sobs belonging to a certain demon slayer filled the air as she watched her friend's face grow paler by the second and even though she and Miroku weren't demon like the brothers, she could still sense the difference in her friend's breaths and knew it was only time until she would pass into the other world. "Kagome, please, come back." Another sob rattled her chest as she continued with her small pleas.

"_**Please Kagome, we miss you." This time the voice was accompanied by a small sob and soon the miko found herself turning on her heals and facing back into the darkness.**_

"_**Sango?" The young woman was about to step towards what she presumed to be her friend's voice, but her attention was quickly grabbed once more by the faint whispering coming from behind her.**_

"_**Come…"**_

_**The miko stood there for a moment, her mind being pulled back and forth between the two. It was truly nerve racking at how persuasive the whisper sounded as if were luring her into the welcoming light, but the voice in the darkness sounded so friendly, like it would take the darkness away if she were to follow it instead. But which one would be better?**_

"_**We miss you Kagome!"**_

_**The whisper then began to argue with the previous voice. "They lie. Everything they say is a lie."**_

"_**Please come back."**_

"_**Don't listen to them. Come with me and rid yourself of the pain."**_

**_As the voices stopped the young miko found herself stuck between a rock and a hard place as her eyes fell towards the blackness of the ground and she silently slid to her knees. What was she to do? '_My friends…_'_**

Miroku's lean arm found its way around the weeping friend's waist and for the first time since they met he was able to willingly keep his roaming hands at bay, at least for the sake of the poor woman who now had her face buried in his chest. All eyes were on the couple until the woman in the middle of the room spoke.

"I don't want to go…"

_**Her arms wrapped themselves around her as she squeezed herself tightly. "No. I don't want to go. The pain…" She paused a moment, only long enough to wipe the tears that were running freely down her rosy cheeks. "The pain shows me everything is real and that people care and are cared for. I miss them…"**_

"Kagome." The entire room looked up at the taiyoukai, all clearly shocked to hear him utter her name for the first time since they had arrived what seemed like a long time ago.

_**His breath wasn't in vain, for chocolate eyes shot up towards the darkness, casting her back onto the light and the tempting faint whisper at the sound of that familiar voice. Now she remembered. She wasn't in pain, she was in love. Madly in love with the demon lord of the western lands who was waiting for her within the shadows as he always did.**_

_**Summoning up a good amount of courage she placed her hand on the ground beneath her and heaved herself up into a standing position. Once she caught her balance she began to walk, all the while the whisper tempted her with sweet words of a true paradise, but deep down she knew everything she needed, everything she wanted, was waiting for her within the shadows. Her friends and her lover were calling her name and they needed her.**_

_**Her steady steps began to slow down as the darkness began to decapitate into nothingness and shatter around her until a light glow of red, orange, and yellows could be seen at the corner of her vision. Before long the light grew brighter and she found herself back in reality.**_

Before said woman could open her eyes completely a petit form had its arms wrapped around her tightly and Kagome found her face buried in a bundle of deep brown hair. "Sango?..." Her voice cracked out groggily.

"Oh Kagome! I'm so glad you came back!" But the warm embrace was snatched away as an irritated hanyou pulled the demon slayer from the woman in the middle of the group, placing her back beside Miroku and muttering something along the lines of how humans had stupid emotions and how Kagome had to breathe.

This caused the miko to smile.

Sesshoumaru's hand slowly reached out, resting itself over hers, which lay on her chest at the moment. This action received a low growl from Inuyasha who quickly quieted down due to the fact that his best friend and brother were now mated. Oh the irony of it all, but how would this truly effect the group?

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Author's Note:** bows head Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in order to proclaim the end of this Inuyasha fan fiction and proceed on to tell about it's wonderful life and journal on 'Changes During Time' was an awesome story to write even though I've improved so much in-between the time it was written and have realized not many people continue on with reading it due to the sucky-ness of the first chapters. However, I have enjoyed the reviewers who have stayed with me through-out this entire fic and would also like to thank anyone else who made it to this point afterwards. I appreciated your reviews and all of your suggestions, plus the participations in the polls were a great help. Thanks again! Now to say goodbye for this fic. plays funeral music

**What's To Come: **'Changes Between Brothers' - A sequel to 'Changes During Time', though it will be understandable even if you haven't read it. It will just make more sense if you have. Anyways. Kagome now belongs to Sesshoumaru, but continues her travels with her old comrades in search of the Shikon No Tama. On a journey without Kagome, Inuyasha runs into an odd woman. Despite her seniority over him, he treats her extremely rudely and ends up paying for it in the end when he finds himself in Sesshoumaru's body. How will Inuyasha handle this one? And will the brothers be able to keep their cool in such a situation? More than ever, will Kagome understand and believe the two of them?

**Vocabulary:  
**Hanyou - A half demon.  
Houshi – A Monk.  
Inuyoukai - Dog demon.  
Kitsune – A young fox demon.  
Miko - A human, normally female, who has unusual spiritual powers.  
Monk - A holy being.  
Youkai – A full demon.

**Reviewer Responses:  
**hermonine – I'm so glad you liked it and sorry about the cliff hanger, but you just got to love them. Lol. Hope you liked the story.  
Tris Riddle – Mwahaha! I know a lot of people have that question in the back of their mind and if you didn't notice I hadn't answered it in the last chapter, but it will be answered in the first chapter of the sequel, which you said you would read, so don't worry, you'll find out soon.  
Inlovewithsesshoumaru – I'm glad you liked it and I hope you'll continue on with reading the sequel.  
Lady Lenn – Yes, the sequel will still be Sesshoumaru and Kagome pairing, though I do feel slightly sorry for Inuyasha. Poor guy. Oh, and yes, Sesshoumaru and Kagome were both naked. XD Lol. And this was the last chapter. Sorry.  
AnimusPatronus – I'm glad you liked it.  
Clouds of the Sky – Of course she'll make it. Lol. The sequel would be so boring without her. XD  
Princess of the Saiyans 16 – Thanks so much. I'm glad you liked it.  
MaryTwain – Thank you.  
Sesshoumaru's Miko – I love how you keep my on my toes with all your questions because you keep my mind going and going. Lol. I'm not sure what happened to Inuyasha's mother. I believe she stayed human but died shortly after for some unnatural reason. I'm not sure though, but I do know that Kagome is alive and well in this story. And I'm glad you liked how I wrote the love scene and I liked it as well. Thanks.  
moonscout11 – I'm so glad you liked it and I hope you'll read the sequel as well.


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